Main Dishes

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GREEK STUFFED PORTOBELLOS – They’re Greek To Me!

greek portobello

GREEK STUFFED PORTOBELLO

Two things that make my pupils dilate when choosing a recipe are it’s: 1) fast to prepare, and 2) can be made ahead of time. Bonus points if the cooking time is short.

Greek Stuffed Portobellos are all that – and delicious, too! I know I’m on a winner when even my picky-eater youngest son will eat them. They’re great for sneaking things into your child’s diet that they may not normally eat – like spinach. (We moms sometimes have to be sneaky – they’ll thank us later!)

Something you may not realize is portobello mushrooms are just common button mushrooms all grown up. So now I only buy the more expensive portobellos when I’m stuffing them and save my money on recipes that call for sliced or chunks of portobellos by using the smaller common mushrooms – they’ll do fine.

GREEK STUFFED PORTOBELLOS – makes 4

  • 4 portobello mushrooms
  • 1/2 T olive oil
  • 1 cup onions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 2 cups spinach, chopped
  • 1/4 cup scallions
  • 3/4 cup Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp dill
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup kalamata olives, halved
  • 5 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes. Add in spinach, scallions, tomatoes, oregano, dill, and salt. Continue to cook until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice, olives, and feta.

Remove and discard stem from mushrooms, and thoroughly wash. Rub with olive oil and place on broiler pan open side up. Divide the spinach mixture between the mushrooms.

Broil 4″ from heating element for about 15 minutes – until browned.

Serve with rice.

 

 

 

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SPINACH PIE – Popeye Approved!

SPINACH PIE

SPINACH PIE

Spinach is one of those really-good-for-you foods that I tend to put off making. Why? Because I hate cleaning it. If you’ve ever bought fresh spinach, you know what I mean – it’s very muddy. Even when the store does its best to sell clean bunches, I always find dirt in there. Consequently, I wash each leaf under running water, getting in every nook and cranny – after all, I don’t know what’s in that mud.

I admit it – I’m a wee bit overly cautious. (Okay – paranoid!)

I realize life would be easier if I used frozen, but I worry they didn’t clean their spinach very well. Running water over frozen spinach is almost pointless.

All that being said, whenever I do make a spinach dish, I’m glad I did. It’s delicious, healthy, and I always feel I’ve done a noble thing when finished. Then I chide myself for not cooking spinach more often.

My Spinach Pie is a lovely combination of spinach, raisins, and olives, topped with mozzarella, and encased in a hearty crust.

You may be fearless (or less paranoid) when it comes to spinach, but cringe at making a yeast dough. I’m here to tell you, yeast doughs are easy as…(wait for it)…pie. HONESTLY! They’re a piece of cake. (I’ll stop now.) So take a deep breath and I’ll walk you through this Spinach Pie recipe that everyone loves.

NOTE: I prefer to use canned black olives with jalapeños for added kick, but the plain ones are fine.  You can also use kalamata olives, if you like.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: There are 3 olive oil amounts listed separately. The grand total is 5½ T, but I listed them in the amounts to be used for different purposes. The olive oil used to grease the rising bowl, casserole dish, and brush on the dough are not included in this total.

SPINACH PIE

Crust:

  • ¾ cup water, approximately 100º Fahrenheit
  • 2¼ tsp dry yeast
  • 2¼ cups (274g) all purpose flour
  • 1½ T olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt

Filling:

  • 1 lb fresh spinach (stems are included in this weight)
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, pressed
  • ¼ cup onions, finely chopped
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1   4-oz can black sliced olives (with or without jalapeños)
  • ¾ cup raisins
  • freshly ground pepper
  • ½ lb mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 3 T olive oil

Stir yeast into water and let proof for about 5 minutes.

Put 2 cups (246g) flour, the 1½ T olive oil, and salt into your food processor. Turn it on and slowly pour the proofed yeast water through the pour spout.  Let run until the flour is incorporated. The goal is for the dough to form a ball. Add more flour tablespoon by tablespoon until this happens. Then, run the machine about 45 seconds to knead the dough.

Note:  If you don’t own a food processor, you’ll have to mix and knead the dough by hand. You can use the time it takes to knead the dough to think about how to save up for a food processor.

Press the dough ball into an olive oil greased bowl, then flip the dough so the entire ball is greased. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare the filling (which can also be done ahead of time). Remove and discard the spinach stems. Thoroughly wash spinach leaves, shake to remove excess water, then grab handfuls of leaves and slice. Don’t worry about the size or shape of the sliced leaves – once cooked, the leaves wilt.

In a large pot heat the 1 T olive oil. Sauté the onions, garlic, and cayenne pepper for 5 minutes. Add in the olives, raisins, ground pepper, and spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the liquid boils down a bit. (If you’ve never cooked fresh spinach before, you’ll be amazed by how much the spinach wilts – see photo.) There will still be some liquid – don’t worry about it.

Raw spinach wilts down to nothing.

Raw spinach wilts down to nothing.

Mix the mozzarella and 3 T olive oil together in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 400º Fahrenheit.

When dough has risen, take two thirds of the dough and, on a well floured board, roll into a rectangle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of an 8″x 10″ casserole dish (or comparable size). Liberally grease the casserole dish with olive oil, then carefully place dough. Brush dough with more olive oil.

Tilt the pan containing the spinach, allowing the liquid to drain away. With a slotted spoon, remove the mixture and spread evenly on top of dough. Then sprinkle on cheese.

Roll out the remaining dough into a rectangle large enough to cover top. Lay this piece in place, and roll the edges of the bottom and top dough together. The filling is now completely encased.  You can brush the top with olive oil, water, milk, or an egg wash, if you like. Make 3 slits in the top dough.

Bake at 400º Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.

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Fast And Easy FETTUCCINE PRIMAVERA: Molto bene!!!

Fettuccine Primavera

FETTUCCINE PRIMAVERA

Think “fettuccine” and the word “fattening” probably comes to mind. Well, if you want fettuccine alfredo, then “heart attack on a plate” is an appropriate leap. But the high calories and cholesterol come from the butter and cream, not the pasta. The noodles themselves are only about 210 calories per 1½ cup of cooked fettuccine.

Fettuccine Primaverde is one of those dishes I make when I want something light and/or fast. Washing and chopping the veggies is the longest part – cooking is done in about 5 minutes. If you make the pasta noodles (which I do), then it takes a bit longer. The last time I made Fettuccine Primaverde I used leftover fettuccine pasta from the night before, so I enjoyed the benefit of homemade noodles without the effort. Dinner was ready in 20 minutes!

This recipe makes enough for 3-4 people, depending on how large the portions are. If you purchase the pasta, cook the amount you’ll need. If you’re making the pasta, use 1½ cups flour and 2 eggs.

FETTUCCINE PRIMAVERA – makes 3-4 servings

  • 3 T butter
  • 3 T olive oil (I use extra virgin)
  • 3 garlic cloves, pressed
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 12 mushrooms (about 7 oz), coarsely chopped
  • 10 stalks asparagus, sliced into 1″ pieces
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1/3 cup kalamata olives
  • ½ cup vegetable stock (I use homemade: Homemade Vegetable Stock)
  • about ¼ cup Romano cheese, shredded
  • 1½ T pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 3-4 servings fettuccine pasta, cooked

Melt butter and oil together in 10″ skillet. Add in garlic and cayenne pepper. Sauté for 1 minute.

Add in mushrooms, asparagus, and red pepper. Sauté about 2 more minutes.

Add in vegetable stock and olives. Bring to a low boil. Let cook another couple of minutes. Test the asparagus – when it can be pierced with a fork, but is NOT mushy, it’s finished.

To serve, pile fettuccine pasta in a bowl or on a plate and ladle veggies over it. Sprinkle on cheese and pine nuts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beurek – A “Handy” Little Treat

Cheese Boerg

Cheese Beurek served with Armenian Salad.

Like all ethnic families, our Armenian family gatherings centered around food. Stops were pulled, and a feast was enjoyed by all – generally twice in the same day.

A favorite amongst the children was Cheese Beurek (pronounced ‘burr-egg’). They’re similar to the Cornish pasty and Italian calzone. Admittedly, these tasty delights are a bit of work – they’re not difficult, just time consuming.

Now here is the issue of utmost importance with Cheese Beurek:  to ooze or not to ooze. Unless you’re very careful, some of the cheese filling oozes out midway through the baking process, forming a crispy cheese appendage. (See photo below.)

Oozy Beurek

Oozy Beurek

To be honest, I quite like this cheesey bonus disc, and there’s still plenty of cheese inside. But they don’t look very nice and, of course, when they’re completely enclosed, there are no greasy fingers.

I embarked on a mission to discover why the bursting forth of cheese so I would know how to counteract this situation if I wanted to serve Cheese Beurek for company. Oddly enough, the leakage comes from the folded side, not where the edges meet, like you might expect. This is probably because I crimp the heck out of the dough.

So I made countless Cheese Beurek, experimenting with different methods including slitting the top, using less filling, keeping the filling away from the center of the fold, and brushing the dough with egg before placing the filling. What finally worked was using a piece of floured waxed paper to assist in folding the dough, rather than my hands. I guess I was stretching the dough with my palm even though I tried to be careful. The paper keeps the dough stable.

So there you have it!

One thing I should mention is that sometimes beurek is made using a filo or puff pastry dough, rather than bread dough. It’s just a matter of preference.

NOTE:  This recipe involves a rising dough, so allow time for it.

CHEESE BEUREK – makes 12 beurek

  • 2 tsp dry yeast
  • 1¼ cups water, 100º – 104º Fahrenheit
  • 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour, approximately
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup shortening (I use Crisco)
  • ½ lb Muenster cheese, shredded
  • 1 egg, beaten and divided
  • ½ tsp black ground pepper
  • ¼ tsp garlic salt
  • ½ tsp salt

Stir yeast into the water and let proof (foam) for about 5 minutes. Put 2½ cups of flour into the work bowl of your food processor.  Add in sugar, salt, and shortening.  Turn on the machine and slowly pour in the yeast water. Turn off machine and sprinkle in a few more tablespoons of flour. Turn on machine. The goal is for the dough to form a ball. Keep adding in flour a little at a time until the ball forms – you may not need all the flour. If you don’t have a food processor, you’ll have to mix in a bowl and knead by hand. (Start saving your pennies, you really should have one!)

Pour the dough onto a floured bread board. Pick up the ball from the flour-y bottom and fold the dough onto itself, so now floured dough surrounds it and the sticky dough is encased. (I HATE touching sticky dough with my hands.) Gently toss the ball to dislodge excess flour. Plop the dough into a greased bowl, press down, then flip the dough. Now the ball is greased on both sides and your hands should still be clean. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for about an hour.

Prepare the filling while the dough is rising. Into a mixing bowl blend the cheese, half of the egg, the pepper, garlic salt, and salt. Into a smaller bowl make an egg wash by beating the other half of the egg and 1 tablespoon water.

When the dough has risen, pour it onto a well floured board and cut into 12 pieces. Form each piece into a ball, then flatten with the palm of your hand. Let the dough rest about 10 minutes so it’s easier to roll out.

One by one (unless you’re doing an assembly line with helpers) roll out a dough circle to be about 5½” in diameter. Place this on a lightly floured square of waxed paper. Spread about 2½ tablespoons of the filling on one half of the dough, leaving a 3/8″ border from the edge. Dip your finger in water and run it around the entire border to moisten dough. Put your palm under the waxed paper and fold the dough in half.  (See picture below.)

Fold dough using waxed paper.

Fold dough using waxed paper.

UPDATE: I’ve just discovered an even better method to prevent leakage:  form 12 oblong cheese balls from the filling, place on waxed paper, and freeze. Place frozen balls on dough circles, wet edges with water, and fold dough over cheese ball, being careful not to poke the frozen cheese through the dough.

Press edges together, then crimp well with a fork.boereg crimped

Place on a greased or non-stick cookie sheet – don’t crowd. One standard sheet will hold 6. With a dry pastry brush, whisk away excess flour.

Preheat oven to 450º Fahrenheit. Do this after beureks are assembled to give them a bit of a rest as the oven is heating.

When the oven is heated, brush the tops of the Cheese Beurek with egg wash. Bake for 12 minutes, until top is golden brown. Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

 

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Barbecue Pulled “Pork” Sandwiches – Oh, Yeah!

BBQ "pork" sandwich with roasted carrots, mushy peas, and a nice cool beer.

BBQ “pork” sandwich with roasted carrots, mushy peas, and a nice cool beer.

I’m NOT a southern gal, but after trying this Barbecue Pulled “Pork” Sandwich, all I can say is ‘hoo-weee!’

As an ex-carnivore, one of the things I miss most is BBQ – shredded pork or beef sandwiches, to be specific. It occurred to me that maybe there was something I could substitute for the meat. Thanks to the internet, I discovered that people were using jackfruit. What the heck was a jackfruit, I wondered? (Yes, aloud.) I learned it was an ugly looking fruit, popular in the Asian community, and you can buy it canned.

Off I went to the Asian market. Apparently, canned jackfruit is VERY popular because there were numerous brands, most of them in syrup. YOU DO NOT WANT THAT KIND!!! Look carefully, possibly in another section, and you’ll find jackfruit in brine. That’s what you want.

I began this Pulled “Pork” journey with Blissful Basil, a vegan blog, who posted about a jackfruit barbecue sandwich. Naturally, I had to put my own spin on it after trying her recipe. I opted to make my own barbecue sauce, which gave those sandwiches quite a kick. My nose was a-runnin’ and perspiration was a-beadin’ (sorry – it’s the spices a-talkin’)…but, I liked it! This Barbecue Pulled “Pork” Sandwich really satisfied that hankerin’ (I’ll stop now, I promise) for BBQ.

NOTE:  You can use bottled barbecue sauce, if you’d like, instead of making it.

BARBECUE PULLED “PORK” SANDWICH – makes 6-7 sandwiches

  • 2 cans jackfruit in brine, drained
  • 1 T oil (I used canola)
  • 1½ cups onions, chopped
  • 1½ T chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1½ cups barbecue sauce, recipe follows below

Cut off and discard any tough core bits from the jackfruit. Slice the pieces into thin strips.

In a large skillet, sauté onions in oil for  several minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, cayenne powder, and continue to cook another minute to bring the spices to life. Add the jackfruit and barbecue sauce and bring to a low boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring now and then. As this cooks, the jackfruit will soften and you can break it up even more with a flat wooden stirrer.

Pour mixture onto a jellyroll pan and bake at 350º Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Spoon onto whatever you fancy and serve.

BARBECUE SAUCE – makes 1½ cups

  • ¼ cup oil (I used canola)
  • 1 T garlic, minced
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup red cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp hot sauce (use more or less, depending on your spiciness preference)
  • 4 tsp dark brown sugar, packed
  • 4 tsp dijon mustard

Sauté garlic in oil until you can smell it but it hasn’t browned – about 1 minute. Add in ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce, brown sugar, and mustard. Bring to a low boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. At first, the oil will be floating on top, but by the end of cooking time it will be incorporated.

This sauce freezes well, so if you like it make a lot and freeze. It’s excellent on pizza!

 

 

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Vegetable Curry Stew – A Winter Warm Up!

Curry Stew

Vegetable Curry Stew

There’s nothing better on a chilly evening than a nice savory stew. If you’re a curry lover, you’ve got to try my Vegetable Curry Stew. The combination of coconut milk, spices, and vegetables is the stuff of which dreams are made.

Besides warming the cockles of your heart (and stomach), this stew has the benefit of being low in calories. Who couldn’t use THAT as we begin our journey down Weight Gain Road. Even though Halloween is behind us, leftover candy certainly isn’t. Coming up are the food related holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, and the parties that go along with them.

You may be wondering how Vegetable Curry Stew could possibly be low in calories when coconut milk is involved. As always, it’s all about portion control. Instead of using canned coconut milk, I buy powdered. That way, I can use less but still get that luscious coconut milk flavor. If your store doesn’t carry powdered, just buy it online. I use Maggi brand, but I expect they’re all good.

Next, you may be wondering if you can just use part of the can and dilute it with water. While I’ve never done it, I see no reason why you can’t. But the reason I don’t is the powdered is so much easier to use, and it takes up less space in the pantry (always a plus.) Also, I don’t have to worry about what to do with the leftover (you know how I hate waste!). I’m not sure how well coconut milk freezes. Of course, you can double the recipe and use up the can that way.

Finally, you may be wondering how I know what you’re wondering. It’s a gift!

NOTE:  Don’t get frightened by the long list of ingredients.  Most of them are spices – all of which a well-stocked kitchen should have. The thing about herbs and spices is that they’re initially expensive.  BUT once you’ve bought them they last a long time.  Don’t believe those people who say you have to throw them out after a year. Buy the spices and cook from scratch – you are going to save money in the long run.

VEGETABLE CURRY STEW – makes 4 to 5 cups

  • 3 T butter
  • 1 cup onions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves (about 1½ tsp), minced
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp dried ginger
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp cardamon
  • ½ tsp dried mustard
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • ½ stick cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp tumeric
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup coconut powder (or half can coconut milk)
  • ¾ cup water (eliminate this if you’re using canned coconut milk)
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 T lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
  • 1 cup potatoes, chopped (I use Yukon)
  • 1 cup yam, chopped (I use garnet)
  • 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 mushroom, chopped
  • 1 cup broccoli, chopped

WHEW!  That’s a lot of typing. If you’re one of those cooks that likes to have everything prepared before you start cooking, go for it.  But I’m going to give you instructions for the fastest way to prepare this stew. There’s a lot of down time when various ingredients are simmering, so that’s when I prepare the next lot.

Melt the butter in a large pot. As it’s melting, chop the onions and skin the garlic. Add the onions and press the garlic into the pot. Sauté for 10 minutes.

As the onions are cooking (make sure you stir them now and then), assemble your spices, measuring spoons, coconut powder, water, and lemon juice. Chop the carrots.

When the 10 minutes are up, turn off the burner and add the spices. Sauté over a low heat for 2 minutes. Add in the coconut milk, water, carrots, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.

While this is simmering (stir now and then), prepare the potatoes, yam, cauliflower, and mushrooms.

When the 10 minutes are up, add in the chopped potatoes, etc. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

As this is simmering, prepare the broccoli.

When the 10 minutes are up, add in the broccoli. Simmer 5 minutes.

Serve immediately or reheat later.

 

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Add-Ins Oatmeal Casserole: Cook Once, Serve…A LOT!!!

Oatmeal

Add-Ins Oatmeal Casserole

Anytime I find a recipe that saves me cooking AND washing up time, I’m all over it. And triple bonus if it’s healthy!

So when I found this Add-Ins Oatmeal Casserole, I tweaked it (of course) by adjusting the spices to suit my taste, and modified the topping to significantly lower the calories.  (Did you know walnuts have 800 calories per cup? YIKES!!!)

You may be wondering how an oatmeal recipe can save time.  Well, the beauty of this recipe is that you make it and then scoop out individual servings every time you want it. Just zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds – done! It tastes freshly made each time. Now I can have a hot and healthy breakfast or snack at the ready. Easy peezy!

I will confess that my husband, who has eaten the same oatmeal every single morning of our married life, is not a lover of this recipe. He claims it’s not that he doesn’t like it, it’s just he prefers his routine, same old-same old oatmeal. What can I say? He’s an extreme creature of habit. Thank goodness I’m one of his habits!

NOTE:  Change the add-ins to what you prefer or have in the house. Next time, I’m going to throw in some diced apple.

ADD-INS OATMEAL CASSEROLE

  • 2 cups dry oatmeal  (I used the quick cooking kind)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp each ginger, cardamon, nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ salt (regular or sea salt)
  • 1½ cup carrots, shredded
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 2 eggs
  • 2¼ cups milk (I used nonfat cow’s milk. You can also use almond milk.)
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 T coconut oil
  • ½ cup walnuts, toasted
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup, coconut oil, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds. This is the topping.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oatmeal, cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, carrots, and raisins.

In yet another bowl beat together the eggs, then whisk in the milk and vanilla. Stir this into the oatmeal mixture. Pour into a buttered 8″ x 10″ casserole dish. Sprinkle on the topping evenly.

Bake uncovered at 325º Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.

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Italian Flag Lasagna: It’s Worth Saluting!

Italian Flag Lasagna

Italian Flag Lasagna

When one walks around with a surname like ‘Antonini’, there’s a certain expectation of Italian-ness. It probably comes from all the vowels. Even though there’s actually not a drop of Italian blood coursing through my veins (I married into the name), I have adopted some of the mannerisms:  talking with my hands, being emotional, and cooking lots of pasta.

The latter (cooking pasta) is what caused me to say, “hmmmm!” when I spied my friend Rose’s Facebook photo of the Italian Flag Lasagna she made. Rose is a fabulous cook so I always pay attention when she talks food.  Her dish had 6 layers:  green, white, red….green, white, red.

As cooks the world over know, we always feel obligated to tweak recipes and make them our own. So, of course, when I decided to pay homage to my husband’s people by making my version of Italian Flag Lasagna, that’s what I did with Rose’s recipe.

The first change was making the lasagna 3 thick layers of green, white, and red – so it’s more flag-like. Then I bulked up the green filling with broccoli and the red with fake ground beef, so the layers wouldn’t collapse. The white layer of ricotta, egg, and Romano cheese would be fine on it’s own.

By now you may know that I’m a wee bit picky (some might say ‘neurotic’) about what I feed my family.  I like to make as much from scratch as I can so I know what’s in our food. I’m also on the frugal side (some might say ‘cheap’) so cooking from scratch saves me money. Always a bonus!

That being said, doing everything yourself takes time. For my Italian Flag Lasagna, I made the pasta, pesto, marinara sauce, and bought fresh spinach that I washed, de-stemmed, and chopped in the food processor. Not gonna lie: it was work. But if you choose, you don’t have to do any of that. You can purchase lasagna noodles, pesto, frozen chopped spinach, and marinara sauce. While it’s probably tastier to make the spinach/pesto and marinara layers from scratch, the main feature of this recipe is that it looks like the Italian Flag – and you can still get the ‘wow’ factor from store-bought ingredients.

As the self-proclaimed Queen of Freeze, next time I prepare Italian Flag Lasagna, I’m going to make several batches of both the spinach/pesto and marinara fillings, then freeze them in portion sized containers. That way in future, all I’ll have to do is make the noodles and ricotta filling.

THIS IS IMPORTANT (you can tell because I used all caps):  For best results, make Italian Flag Lasagna the day before serving. After baking, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate. The layers will then solidify. To serve, slice into serving sizes, and microwave until warm. If you don’t do this, the layers won’t be as pert, and you’ll lose the flag effect.

ITALIAN FLAG LASAGNA – makes a 10″ x 7″ x 2″ lasagna

– Spinach/Pesto Filling

  • 9 cups packed fresh spinach (or 1¼ cups frozen chopped spinach)
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1¾ cups broccoli, chopped and blanched
  • 2/3 cup pesto (recipe below)

Chop spinach in a food processor by pulsing several times, or use kitchen scissors.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and sauté onion until translucent. Add in spinach, salt, and pepper. Cook until spinach is wilted and liquid is extracted. Turn off burner and tilt skillet, pushing the solids uphill so the liquid can drain. Mix together the drained spinach, broccoli, and pesto.

– Pesto – makes 2 cups (freeze what you don’t need!)

  • 5 cups fresh basil, pack down the basil when you measure
  • 12 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 5 T lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
  • 1 cup + 2 T Romano cheese, shredded
  • ½ cup + 2 T pine nuts, toasted
  • Put all ingredients in a blender.  Depending on your blender, you will probably have to start and stop quite often in order to reposition the ingredients. Be very careful not to press down with an implement (such as a wooden spoon) while the blender is running. As tempting as it is, I’ve had to throw out a few batches of pesto when the wooden spoon went too far down and got caught in the blades. Wood chips in pesto = not good!

– Ricotta Filling

  • 15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
  • ½ cup Romano cheese, shredded
  • 1 egg

Beat egg in a mixing bowl.  Stir in the ricotta and Romano.

– Marinara Sauce

  • 4 cups Roma tomatoes, drained and chopped (I used canned, removing the stem end and any flaws)
  • ½ T olive oil
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp garlic, pressed
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ cup red wine
  • 1¼ cups fake ground beef (I use Morningstar Griller Crumbles)

In a skillet heat olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add in the tomatoes, oregano, and wine.  Bring to boil, then lower flame and simmer sauce uncovered until it thickens (about 20 minutes). Stir in the imitation ground beef and simmer another 5 minutes.

– Cheeses

  • 1 cup Romano cheese, shredded
  • 1½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

– Noodles

NOTE:  If purchasing lasagna noodles, you’ll need 11 noodles.

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ T olive oil
  • water, as needed

Into a food processor put the eggs, flour, and olive oil. Blend until most of the flour is incorporated. Add water one tablespoon at a time until you can form a ball with your hands, but dough is not wet. Roll dough into 8 balls, 2 of them should be about 2″ in diameter. Let rest in covered food processor 30 minutes.

Start boiling the water to cook the pasta. Run the two large dough balls through the pasta machine working your way to #5 setting.  They should be about 5″ wide and VERY long.  These pieces will form the bottom layer and will run up the sides.  The extra length is to wrap around the lasagna to form the top layer.

– Assembly

Grease the sides of the lasagna pan. Spoon some of the liquid part of the marinara sauce onto the bottom of the pan and spread to cover. Boil one of the long pasta strips about 1 minute. Remove and drop into bowl of cold water. Put the other long strip into the boiling water. While that’s cooking, take the cooled strip and cover one side and half the bottom of the pan. Remove the other strip, put in cold water, and lay that one on the other side.

Spread the spinach/pesto filling evenly on the pasta. Top with ½ cup shredded Romano.

Prepare 2 more pasta balls. Roll them to #5, making them 3″ wide. Boil them together 1 minute, drop into cold water, and layer them on the spinach/pesto filling.

Spread the ricotta filling evenly on top.

Prepare 2 more pasta balls as above. Layer on top of ricotta filling.

Spread the marinara filling evenly on top. Top with the remaining ½ cup Romano.

If the bottom pasta strips are long enough that they can fully cover the marinara layer, you don’t need to use the last 2 pasta balls. Prepare them, if needed. Wrap the bottom strips around the marinara filling.

Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese, cover with foil (making sure it doesn’t touch the cheese). Bake at 350º Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beer And “Sausage” Sliders = HOME RUN!!!

BEER & 'SAUSAGE' SLIDERS

BEER & ‘SAUSAGE’ SLIDERS

It’s that time of the year again! The BIG GAME is coming up and the gang is getting together to watch.

You may be wondering to which game I’m referring. Sport’s Widows the world over know: no matter where you are or what time of year it is, there is ALWAYS a Big Game.

Snacks are a must. I’m pretty sure there’s some kind of rule that when you watch a sporting event, you must eat.  Just watch the commercials before a championship game – enthusiastic friends cheering their team on, as they consume vast quantities of food and drink.

Just as sports and food are a natural combination, so are beer and sausage. So I created a slider using beer bread as the bun, and imitation sausage patties as the insides.  (This IS a vegetarian cooking blog, after all!) I also throw in some jalapeño jack cheese for good measure.

These sliders are so tasty even my carnivorous brother raved about them. I decided not to enlighten him about the sausage being fake – why rock the boat! One thing I really like about these sliders is the beer bread, sausage, and cheese bond together as they bake, so you don’t have to worry about them falling apart.  This feature makes them perfect for grab-and-go eating.

If you’d like to see my video on how to make these, click on  BEER & “SAUSAGE” SLIDERS.

NOTE:  Beer & “Sausage” Sliders freeze well, so make extra!

BEER & “SAUSAGE SLIDERS – makes 12 sliders

  • 350 ml (12 fl oz) bottle beer at room temperature (any kind is fine, just make sure you like the flavor since it will be prominent)
  • 30 g (3 T) granulated sugar
  • 416 g (3 cups) self-rising flour
  • 12 imitation sausage patties (I LOVE Morningstar brand!)
  • optional:  12 cheese squares (1″ x  1″ x ¼”) (I use jalapeño jack, but you can use any kind)

Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit.

Bake the sausage patties for a total of 15 minutes, flipping them after 7 minutes. This can be done ahead of time.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Pour in the beer and stir until the flour is incorporated. No need to knead. (Yes, pun intended!)

Put a rounded tablespoon of the batter on the bottom of each greased muffin cup. Add the cheese squares, if using, and smoosh them into the batter to spread it out. Layer on the cooked “sausage” (reminder: quotation marks = fake). Then top with the rest of the batter. There’s exactly enough batter for 12 sliders, so divvy it up accordingly.

Pop them in the already heated 375º Fahrenheit oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Remove from pan and serve!

These Beer & “Sausage” Sliders are not only great for snacking, but for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, too!  You’re welcome.

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The Ultimate Comfort Food: Mac and Cheese!

Homemade MACARONI & CHEESE, served with steamed broccoli and roasted carrots.

Homemade MACARONI & CHEESE, served with steamed broccoli and roasted carrots.

Much to my children’s amazement, I was once a child myself.  So I know first-hand that kids are creatures of habit. Example: If you give a child a cookie after dinner as a treat “just this once”, they will translate that to mean they will get a cookie after dinner “forever”. The battling will begin, and logic will never prevail because in their minds, they ALWAYS get a cookie after dinner.

When I embarked on motherhood I was determined to make it as easy on myself as possible. So I made everything from scratch – baby food, bread, pasta, yogurt, soups, and macaroni & cheese.

What’s that you say? Cooking from scratch doesn’t sound easy to you? First of all, it’s easier than you think – it just takes practice. Second of all, I would rather spend a few extra minutes preparing healthy food so my kids (aka, creatures of habit)  were used to what ‘the real thing’ tastes like. I knew in time they’d eat packaged and fast foods, but I was hoping that by then they would find those foods (laden with sugar, salt, preservatives, and additives) abhorrent.

I wish I could report that things went according to plan. Well, you can’t fight city hall, nor the big food companies.  These people know what they’re doing. My children loved all the junk foods the minute they tried them. And what’s not to like? The sole purpose of these foods is to taste good, thereby ensuring repeat business. (Walking down the chips aisle in the supermarket is the ultimate test of my will-power.)

Macaroni and cheese is standard fare to serve children.  Sadly, most kids only know the boxed kind, with its fake, orange colored cheese.  That’s all I knew growing up – my mother gravitated like a magnet to boxed, canned, and frozen foods. While she enjoyed good food, preparing it held little interest to her.

If your history with macaroni and cheese is with the boxed kind, you may feel like homemade is missing something…and it is. Check out the ingredients list on the package and you’ll see what – and they’re all unpronounceable. Stick with it and you’ll learn to appreciate homemade macaroni and cheese.  To cop the slogan from the old Coke commercial:  it’s the real thing!

NOTE: You can toss in cashews, cauliflower, peas, chopped spinach, etc.  This is a great (sneaky) way to add vegetables to the little ones’ diets. Also, change the cheese to suit your taste.  Try a jalapeño jack to spice things up. Or use up those odd bits of cheese you have in the fridge that you can’t bear to throw out because they’re still perfectly good. (Waste not, want not!!!)

MACARONI AND CHEESE

  • 173g (6 oz) dried elbow macaroni pasta (I use the large size)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¾ tsp dry mustard
  • 1 T water
  • 250ml (1 cup) milk (I use nonfat)
  • 209g (3½ cups) (7.25 oz) cheese, shredded (I use medium cheddar)
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 egg, beaten

Boil the pasta until it’s almost soft – it will continue to cook in the oven with the other ingredients.

While the pasta is cooking put all but 33g (½ cup) (1 oz) of the shredded cheese in a bowl.  Stir the water, salt, and dry mustard together in a small bowl, then pour over cheese. Add in the milk and stir together. (I ‘rinse’ the mustard liquid bowl with the milk into the cheese so I can get every bit.)

When pasta is done, drain and return it to the cooking pot.  Blend in the butter and egg – do this on a cool surface (you don’t want to cook the egg). Transfer the pasta into an 8″ x 8″ baking dish. Pour the milky cheese over the pasta, then sprinkle the reserved ½ cup cheese on top.

Bake uncovered at 180°C (350ºF) for 40-45 minutes, until browned. Let set about 10 minutes before serving.