Spinach Lasagna Rolls

I can't remember why I bought ricotta cheese, but it was about to expire and I was in dire need of a quick recipe where ricotta cheese was used abundantly.  I've made lasagna before but always felt they were quite labor intensive, it was probably my fault for taking on the more challenging recipes. This recipe will definitely be making a reappearance on our dinner table.  Quick, easy and delicious.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls
(adapted from the-girl-who-ate-everything.com)

ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 1 (15oz) container fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
• 9 Tb mozzarella cheese, shredded

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Make sure you drain the spinach well. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, Italian seasonings, chicken, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
2. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry by patting them with a paper towel. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over a noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
3. Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 Tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.
    

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spaghetti alla carbonara

Ever since I got the pasta attachment for my kitchenaid I've been having a hard time buying dry pasta.  Why buy pasta when I can make it myself?  I learned a tough lesson in pasta making this time. Our house was just too cold for the pasta to form correctly so the Husband had to put his muscles to work and knead the dough to the right consistency.  The result was still delicious whole wheat pasta, but it definitely took a lot of work.  So this is one of my favorite sauces to make with pasta.  It taste a little like alfredo sauce, but without the cream.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
(adapted from foodnetwork.com)
ingredients

• 1 pound dry spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta, cubed
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

directions

1. Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until al dente. Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce.
3. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.
4. Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken. 
5. Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

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No-Knead Pizza Dough

I got this recipe from my coworker who mentioned Jim Lahey and Mark Bittman, two names that really did not compute into anything in my mind, but when she said No-Knead, I was intrigued!  Perhaps the hardest part about this whole process is leaving the dough alone.

No-Work Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
(Adapted from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook)

ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. instant dry yeast activated in 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs. olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 cup water (at room temperature)

directions

1. Combine first four ingredients plus 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl. Stir in water. The dough should be relatively sticky and wet, like biscuit batter.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and put it in a warm spot. Let the dough sit for at least 6 or up to 12 hours.
3. When you're ready, heat the oven. Generously oil a baking sheet. Dust your hands with a little white flour and fold the dough over in the bowl a few times. It will be sticky, but don't use too much flour. Dust your hands again only when absolutely necessary and use a light, gentle touch. Gently press the dough into the baking sheet.
4. Brush the top of the pizza with a little olive oil, cover, and let sit while you get the toppings together, but no more than 60 minutes or so. 
5. Bake at 400F, for about 20 minutes.

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OG's Zuppa Toscana Soup

 

Rainy days are the best days for a bowl of nice hot soup. This is one of my fave and the sole reason why I go to Olive Garden. Now all I need to make are the bread sticks.

(Olive Garden's) Zuppa Toscana Soup

(adapted from many variations)

ingredients

• 1 lb. spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
• 3 bacon
• 2 (32 oz) chicken stock
• 2 lg. red potatoes, sliced  (you can also use Russet Potato, peeled and diced)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bunch of kale, cut into bite sized
• 2/3 cup cream
• 6 cups water
• pinch of fennel
• a dash of red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper

directions
1. Bring chicken stock and water to a light boil and add potatoes.
2. In a skillet cook bacon until somewhat done and remove bacon.
3. Sauté the onion in the bacon rendering until almost caramelized (golden color). Remove and put in boiling stock.
4. In the same skillet add olive oil and cook Italian sausage (with casings removed).
Add garlic with the sausage and cook until sausage is done and the consistency of ground hamburger meat. Drain the oil then add mixture to the stock.
5. By this time check to see if potatoes are cooked, when they are done reduce heat and add cream and kale, salt, fennel, red pepper, black pepper.

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