A Twist on a Classic

Greg made lasagna last night. He made it with spicy sausage instead of ground beef, which was so good. It reminded me of this little twist on lasagna that I made a while back. It's basically the same thing as regular lasagna, but, get this.... the noodles are standing upright.  Ooooo! Ahhh! Gravity-defying feats are happening here, people. Unlike most magic tricks, I will share the secret with you. Just cuz we're all friends here.

•  First, Preheat the oven to 375. 

• Cook 9-12 lasagna noodles and put to the side. (If you use less noodles, put more of the mixture into each one before you roll them up)
• If you like mushrooms, use about 12 ounces, chop them  and saute with a tablespoon of butter or oil for about 5 minutes. Then add 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes (this was a meatless version)
• * If you're using ground beef or sausage, just saute it while chopping to separate until the meat is done, but not overdone because it will cook for another hour in the oven. Then add 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes
• In a medium bowl combine a 15 oz container of ricotta, 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry, 1 large beaten egg, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.
• Spread the remaining tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking dish
• Spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle, top it with a tablespoon of the heated mushroom/meat and sauce mixture, then roll up the noodle and either stand it up or lay it down in the baking dish

• Top with 3/4 cup of part-skim mozzarella cheese. Also cover with any remaining mushroom/meat sauce. 

•  Cover loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes. 
• Then uncover and bake for 15 more minutes.

Presto! Lasagna rollups! Unlike my meatball sub adventure, when I painstakingly made the sauce from scratch (what was I thinking?) I just used sauce from a jar. My favorite brand is Preggo.  I like the Heart Smart kind because it tastes the same as Traditional, but has less sodium. Do you have any twists on traditional fare? Please share!

Thanks for reading my twisted (not in a sociopath serial killer kind of way) thoughts about food.

Recipe comes from Elie Krieger's The Food You Crave

More Summer Eats

 Yum! Eating summertime food makes me yearn for the beach! Greg and I have been scouring the web on sites like kayak.com and livingsocial.com for good vacation deals this summer. We haven't gone on a proper vacation (just the two of us) since our honeymoon. We are determined to actually get away for a few days this summer.  As of now, we're still searching. Wish us luck!

Huge Shrimp!

The spices I used:

• Salt
• Cayenne Pepper
• White Pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Dried Thyme 
• Dried Basil
• Chili Powder
• Paprika

 I also saw recipes using onion and garlic powder, but I didn't use either. Since I only had 10 shrimp, I only used a few shakes of each spice. I tossed the spices and shrimp into a Ziploc bag. I added another shake of cayenne pepper, to add more heat, and that's about it. You can use any amount of these spices that you want to create your own blend.

Although this multicolored corn tasted great,  I can't wait to go to the farmer's market to get local sweet white corn.

The watermelon was so refreshing with this salty and spicy dish.





Thanks for reading my continued thoughts about summer food.

Summer Cakes

How cool are these cakes? I can't wait to try out the recipes.

This cake seems a bit complicated :

 But this one seems easy and super yummy, just my style: 

My Food Education Started with a Sandwich

 

     As you might have guessed from some of my food escapades such as the Madeline saga, I have not always loved to cook. In fact I did absolutely zero cooking until Greg and I moved in together in 2007. I was, and still am, really inexperienced. In fact, I didn't even know how to make a sandwich when Greg met me. My idea of a sandwich was a piece of ham and a slice of American cheese between two pieces of Wonder Bread. Needless to say, I thought I hated sandwiches. When we went over to his parent's house, his entire family ate sandwiches all the time. They made them for lunch, for snacks, to take in the car on a road trips, or sometimes just because they were in the mood for a sandwich. They were always making sandwiches!! I always declined eating them until Greg just made me one one day. He used Roast beef, red onions, honey mustard, lettuce and tomato. I had my choice of  several different cheeses: swiss, provolone, muenster, how could I decide? This was not a Wonder Bread family. That sandwich was delicious. I was hooked. From there he also encouraged me to try new things. I tried a Ruben for the first time, a french dip sandwich, a Cuban, and a Monte Cristo; I tried anything and everything, and they were all delicious. Since those days, I can't believe I have made things like risotto, French cakes and pastries, and lobster. So I guess I could say that my entire cooking education really did start with that one sandwich.

            Grilled with turkey, muenster, Jack Daniel's honey mustard, a dab of horseradish, and spinach.

We had sandwiches and margaritas on the patio the other night. It was a bit chilly so we made  fire. It was perfection.

Shrimp: My Summer Obsession

 Shrimp is my new go-to dinner option this summer. It is light, versatile, and healthy, not to mention yumtastic! Whole Foods changed my mind about seafood altogether. We were getting it from Safeway, which was okay, but the seafood we've been getting recently tastes so much fresher. The shrimp comes already shelled and de-veined, which saves time and a smelly trash can.  They have it responsibly farm-raised or wild caught, although it can be a bit pricey. We just get about 10 of the farm-raised, which is plenty without wasting leftovers. The wild caught can be up to $18 / lb! Yikes!

This dish is made up of cooked penne pasta, steamed asparagus tips, and diced tomatoes. I used white wine, lemon, pepper, garlic, and butter to saute it all together.

For this dish I made a carbonara sauce and just tossed in steamed broccoli, shrimp, and linguine.

I think my next summer-style dish will be grilled Cajun shrimp with sweet corn on the cob and a big hunk of watermelon. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

 Do you have any other suggestions for irresistible summer meals?

Satay

 This is my new favorite dinner. It has the best combination of qualities. It takes ten minutes to make, and it tastes absolutely delicious! I get chicken tenders (or breasts and cut them into slices) that is free-range, hormone free, etc. I put the chicken in a Ziploc with about a teaspoon or so of curry powder and some canola oil. (Just a few drops). I also added a tiny shake of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and about a clove or two of minced garlic. I let it marinate in the fridge for about an hour, then stick it on skewers and grill it up on the Foreman. Then, I used some Thai peanut dipping sauce that was absolutely to die for. I just slightly heated it and put it on the side.

On the side, I made some pad Thai and added broccoli. Pad Thai is also really easy to make and you can put in anything that you want. I soaked rice noodles in hot water for 10 minutes, then heated a dab of oil in my wok with some garlic and onion. Once the noodles were soft, I tossed them in the wok, added a tablespoon of fish sauce and two tablespoons of soy sauce, and then the steamed broccoli. I tossed it all on high heat until the noodles absorbed all of the liquid. Right before serving I drizzled about 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil on the top. I would have loved to have added crumbled peanuts for texture, but all I had was almonds, so I threw a few in anyways. (I don't think anyone noticed the difference after a bottle of wine). I also would have love to chop some green onion for the top, but mine were way too wilted, so I skipped it. I have a recipe to make my own peanut sauce, which I might try, but sometimes you don't want to mess with a good thing. The sauce I used is from Thai Kitchen and is so amazing.

10 Things You May Not Know about Me and Food

1. I will try (almost) anything once. I have eaten  kangaroo steak on a stick and once I ate a baby octopus whole.

2. I would love to have a vegetable garden, but I know everything would die. The only things that I've been able to keep alive are two dogs and a fish....and a husband.


3. Even though I try to eat healthy, comfort food is my wheelhouse. My favorite foods are: chocolate cake  macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, chocolate mousse, and homemade cookies.

4. In college we had a dining hall kitchen that made pretty decent food (which I totally miss!) but no one liked it except me. All my friends would have Lucky Charms or salad for dinner and I'd be eating roasted stuffed peppers and Eggplant Parmesan.


5. I mess up nearly all of the recipes I try for the first time. After half-whisking in an incorrect ingredient I will usually look up and say in all seriousness, "do you think I can get that back out?"

6. I CRAVE corn flakes with sugary hot milk from the summers I spent on mission trips to Honduras. I also crave the frozen chocolate covered bananas from those trips.

7. The best tamale I ever had was at an orphanage in Mexico.   To. die. for.

8. When I was a baby, apparently, I ate dog food out of my grandparent's golden retriever's dish. They would have to put it on the counter when I came over.

9. I hate olives and I don't really like bacon. Both are too salty.

10. The worst cooking mistake I ever made was putting broccoli in a slow cooker for an entire day. Horrible outcome.

10b.Scratch that, the worst cooking mistake I ever made was buying fish that still had the scales on one side, and then trying to get them off with a spoon...then a knife...then a cheese grater... then just calling my grandmother...then Greg coming home and almost throwing up seeing me wrestling a half mutilated fish over the kitchen sink Golom-style.