I created a recipe!

Lasagna is so versatile and I feel like I make variations every time I make it based on what I have on hand.

I was making lasagna last week and decided to steal some ideas from our favorite gnocchi recipe (See Wednesday April 15th, 2009 posting) and ended up creating my own recipe. All the ingredients are from Trader Joe's. We really enjoyed lasagna this way and the teenagers I was housesitting finished up the whole thing! Don't substitute olive oil for butter, the butter really adds a richness.

Ingredients:
1 jar TJ's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce
1/2 package TJ's no boil lasagna noodles
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp butter
1 6 oz. package fresh spinach, chopped
8 oz. ricotta cheese
2/3 package TJ's Quattro Formaggio Cheese - a blend of four italian cheeses.

Lightly brown pine nuts in butter for about 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add garlic and cook one additional minute. Add spinach and stir around until wilted. Add full jar of marinara.

Mix ricotta with 1/2 package of quattro formaggio cheese, add some salt & pepper to taste.

In a 9X13 baking dish spread out about 1 cup of sauce. Place 4 overlapping lasagna noodles on bottom. Add about 1/3 of remaining sauce and spread 1/2 cheese mixture on top. Repeat noodles, sauce & cheese. Add final layer of noodles and cover with remaining sauce. Spread a couple handfuls of quattro formaggio over the top.

Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

I made this recipe a couple months ago and it was fantastic! It's a great way to use leftover chicken. I only made a half recipe the last time because we didn't want to waste food, but it was so good a full recipe would have been gobbled up!

For our household of 2, this is a great meal to make on the weekend and then bring to work over the week for lunch. I've also encouraged my vegetarian family to use fake chicken and try this recipe.

I used panko breadcrumbs.

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake:
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/chicken/chicken-florentine-artichoke-bake/

On the menu the week of April 20th...

It's really hot today and I'm sitting on my couch thinking about how I really don't want to warm up the kitchen by turning our monstrous oven on. Here's what we've got on the menu for the week if I can motivate myself to turn on the oven:

Crunchy Shrimp with Toasted Couscous and Ginger-Orange Sauce
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1141973
This recipe is really fabulous. We leave the mayo out of the sauce because my husband is mayo-averse. It would be a really nice light meal for a hot evening. I'm using mache greens from Trader Joe's instead of watercress because good watercress is hard to find.

Rosy Beet Risotto
See my blog posting from April 2008.

Tofu with Asian Veggies in Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce
Make some rice. Saute a bag of frozen asian veggies on high heat in canola oil for about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat and throw in the tofu and cook a couple more minutes. Pour a 1/2 bottle of thai red curry sauce and heat through. Serve over rice.

Mom's Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Oatmeal-Blueberry-Pancakes/Detail.aspx
Who says you can't have breakfast for dinner? I have buttermilk left over and this is how I'm going to use it. If only I can find some frozen blueberries in my freezer.

Bruschetta
See my blog posting from May 2008 - A Simple (Almost) Summer Meal. Since tomatoes aren't in season yet, I got cherry tomatoes. I'm going to chop them up and toss them with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic and basil instead of using plain sliced tomatoes. This should liven up the flavor a little bit.

I also have to make some Cinnamon Apple Cakes (See November 2008 posting "It's Been Awhile...") for Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday. I can't let our Administrative Staff down, I'm going to have to turn on the oven...ugh. At least the butter will soften quickly in this weather.

I've tried all of these recipes before and I can vouch for all of them. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake

I found a really moist and delicious recipe for Carrot Cake on myrecipes.com. I highly recommend it. You cook it in a 9X13 pan and can just leave it there and frost it in there.

Although this is a reduced fat recipe, it still has plenty of fat. It would probably taste really good without the frosting, which would greatly reduce the fat grams. So Dad, no frosting for you!

Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1054818

Easy tasty meal

I often wonder if anyone actually reads this blog, since no one ever leaves comments. So far it hasn't brought me any fame or fortune, but I do find it useful when I need a recipe I've cooked in the past.

I've made Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts several times. It's really, really easy and very delicious. Try it!

We just had it for dinner tonight and it was very satisfying. I'm always surprised by what a little amount a big bag of spinach cooks down to. Be sure to use the full 10 ounces and don't use frozen.

Freeze your extra pine nuts, they'll last longer.

My parents also love this recipe.

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1867562

Inspired Again!

My husband & I have been trying very hard not to eat out because of our recession. That means I've been cooking dinner everyday. Pretty much all the things I've posted in the past have been eaten over and over again....until today.

Today I made Parmesan-Crusted Broiled Sea Scallops. They were delicious. Jumbo Sea Scallops were on sale (and not because they were about to go bad) so Andy picked up 10 which is about 1.2 lbs. We used the recipe below which I found through a google search and happened to show up on one of my favorite recipe websites - myrecipes.com. We didn't have melba toasts as called for in the recipe, so I used panko bread crumbs that I had on hand. Panko are japanese style bread crumbs.

These scallops were fantastic! They were so rich and delicious with a crunchy outside and buttery scallop inside. We had them with asparagus which is recently in season and Trader Joe's Harvest Blend of cous cous, orzo, quinoa and baby chickpeas. It was a restaurant meal at a fraction of the cost. I highly recommend this scallop recipe.

Parmesan-Crusted Broiled Sea Scallops:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=640205

First post of 2009

I have a couple new recipes to share this year:

Last night I made a Giada DeLaurentis recipe - Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms. They were so delicious. I've tried many recipes that I've seen on Food Network and Giada's always turn out as good as they look. Plus they are usually simple and quick. So if you see something you think you would like on her show, try it!

Last week I made zucchini cakes with mushroom ragout. Another delicious meal. I found the recipe on the Better Homes and Gardens website. The recipe calls for an 8 1/2 oz package of corn muffin mix. They are referring to Jiffy corn muffin mix. The zucchini cakes would be good on their own to complement many other meals.

Recipes below. Enjoy!

Grilled and Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Gorgonzola
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-and-stuffed-portobello-mushrooms-with-gorgonzola-recipe/index.html

Zucchini Cakes with Mushroom Ragout
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/vegetables/zucchini-cakes-with-mushroom-ragout/