Vegetarian Lasagna

I have been craving yummy comfort food lately and while I dont have a photo of this, because I ate it so quickly, it is worth sharing!

Makes enough for 6

Barilla Lasagna Sheets (the kind you dont have to pre cook)
1 and a half jars sauce your choice, I used Paul Newman's Sockarooni
1/2 bunch Kale washed and stemmed, chopped
3 cloves garlic
pinch of red chili flakes
2 red peppers, chopped in 1 inch strips
1 yellow pepper chopped in 1 inch strips
1/2 Medium red onion, large dice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
veggie cheese - smoked provolone flavor

Tofu Ricotta:
organic firm tofu
3-4 Tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade
1 lemon, juice only
olive oil

saute onion and peppers with olive oil.
when soft add chopped garlic. remove from heat and place in a bowl.
In same pan saute kale with olive oil, garlic and chili flakes. add some water to help steam the kale and soften it.
crumble tofu, add lemon juice, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil. mix well.

spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. I rubbed olive oil on it. layer some sauce on the bottom, place enough sheets of pasta to cover. add more sauce and peppers add half of the tofu mixture. Layer pasta, kale, sauce, tofu. Pasta, sauce and veggie cheese.

Bake 375 for 35 minutes until pasta has absorbed water from veggies and is cooked. Serve with more sauce.

enjoy. I made this with these ingredients because its what I had in the house. I bet broccoli rabe would be tasty and mushrooms...maybe that will be next!

Enjoy!

Tuesday Night Quick Fix

So I just finished a workout and was really hungry but didn't want to cook and I didn't want leftovers. (I must take after my dad right now!) This is why I came up with the idea for my business of being a personal chef for athletes.

This is what I threw together with what I had in the fridge and pantry. Its really good, so I'm publishing it here.

Seared Mushrooms with Spinach
Serves 1
Portobello Mushrooms
Oyster Mushroom about 1 cup of each mushroom diced in big chunks
1 T butter or Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, left whole
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
large handful baby spinach
salt and pepper
1 cup quinoa, cooked

Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat until nice and hot.
Add butter/oil and garlic clove and paprika. Wait for butter to foam and bubble.
add mushrooms....don't move anything for at least 2-3 minutes, season with salt and pepper. then shake pan to toss mushrooms. Sear another 2-3 minutes, shake pan again.
Add baby spinach and wilt. Mix everything together and serve over heated quinoa.

This is why you need a well stocked pantry. Smoked paprika was hard for me to find, but now I have it, I use it with potato salad and mushrooms. it adds such a unique depth of flavor to the food.

I wish I had more mushrooms. I would make another batch! That was tasty!
Enjoy!

Baked "Sketti"

Baked Spaghetti

I learned that this was my grandmothers recipe but I always associated it with my mom and her cooking. Its so simple, not fancy but is comfort food for me. Enjoy!

This isnt really a recipe as she always just threw everything together. So experiment a little if you want.

serves 4-6

8 strips bacon, cut into pieces
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 can Campbells Tomato Soup
8-10 oz. spaghetti

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
While spaghetti is cooking, brown bacon in a pan until crispy.
Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. clean out pan, reserving 1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon bacon fat to cook onions. (depending on how much you love bacon fat)
Cook onions in bacon fat.
Drain spaghetti when its done cooking.
Mix all together in a casserole dish.
Bake in a 350 oven for 30-45 minutes. depending on how crispy you want it. I like it crispy! Everything is cooked, so it may not even take 30 minutes depending on the dish you put it in. A low flat dish will have more surface area and dry out more than a deeper dish. (duh)

I serve this with an arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette. the clean peppery arugula balances out the salt of the bacon and sweetness of the soup.

Veggie Meatballs or Patties

My resolution this year is to go veggie. This meatless meatball recipe is very good. it has a very bright taste that stands up to a flavorful marinara sauce. I like the fact that it doesnt use soy "meat" fillers.

2 hard cooked eggs
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup wheat germ
1 Tb. Fresh Parsley
1 cup minced onion (can use scallions too for different flavor)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup melter butter
1 tsp. salt
2 raw eggs, beaten

Mix all ingredients well, then add raw eggs. Shape into balls or patties and cook over medium heat until lightly browned.

Favorite Cookie

Favorite Holiday Recipe: Mexican Wedding Cakes from Betty Crocker's Cookie book. We call them Pecan Crescents. We make these every year and actually fight over who gets to make these cookies and who makes the best ones. I think mine are the best. I really wanted to make them this year, but my niece called "dibs" first.

We are doing a Fontera Grill Inspired menu for Christmas this year. I borrowed my sisters cookbooks to do some research for recipes and traditional Mexican holiday dishes. I'm really excited to have something other than turkey...again!

So far we have: ceviche, guacamole, pomegranate mojitos...really, what else do you need...LOL. more to come on recipe research and beverage recon....