Lasagna and Garlic Bread

I started out with the intent to make cannelloni, based off my Sicilian grandmother’s recipe. I have all that cottage cheese left from the free cottage cheese deal, so I figured I do it with that instead of buying ricotta. I haven’t made it in a long time because the cheese is so costly. After I had the pasta all made up, I looked around, and said, “Bah, I don’t feel like rolling cannelloni, I’ll make lasagna!” So lasagna it was! How flexible is that? I’m not going to give an exact recipe, I’ve covered the original before here, I’m just going to give some bullet points of slight changes to the recipe.

Filling

* Sweet Italian Sausage
* Cottage cheese – don’t forget to drain it in a tea towel like I did! Still tastes great, but as you can see, no amount of set time would have kept it together.
* Baby Spinach – chopped
* I used some pre-shredded mozzarella I had on hand instead of fresh stuff

Sauce

* Diced Tomatoes
* Canned tomato sauce
* Sautéed onion & celery
* Fresh toasted garlic
* Oregano & Italian Seasoning

As for the bread. It’s more bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Tossed it in to bake for 20 minutes while I made the lasagna. For the topping, I keep in the fridge at all times this compound ‘butter’ (it’s really margarine because I hate the taste of butter unless I’m doing something like pastry):

Garlic Bread Spread

* Big bowl full of margarine or butter if you prefer. Butter will need to be softened though.
* Minced garlic. Do not use the canned stuff, do it yourself! You want all those oils transferring to the margarine/butter without the added wetness of the soaking fluid. I like a LOT of garlic, I use about 3/4-1 whole bulb for my 5 cup container that I keep this in.
* Frozen corn
* Whatever Italian herb you prefer. I usually use parsley or oregano unless I have fresh thyme on hand. I think the thyme is the best choice, but play around.
* Salt

Mix all the ingredients to taste – this is a highly personal recipe, do what you like with it. The Number one way I use this is on a French loaf and then I grate cheddar and pepper jack on top and toss under the broiler for a few minutes.

In other news, P got permission to hire me for about 10 hours a week to do paperwork.  It will mostly be in-store with babe on my back, but it can be taken home if necessary.  This means that my grocery budget just loosened up some.  I had lost a lot of it to freaking gas these days!  It also means that when his company doesn’t want to pay a real graphic designer and sends me a fugly flyer with 24 hrs to fix it, I get paid!  WooHoo!

I’m off to Virginia Beach in the morning for about a week, I’ll try to keep a bit updated from there. I’ll have access to a nicer camera and my step-dad is a foodie too, so hopefully I’ll have some neat stuff to post.

No matter how hard I try to cook just enough food for dinner, time and time again, I find myself with leftovers. Now, they could be eaten exaclty as they were the first time around. That can get repetitive and boring though. Why not take the same food and use it in new ways? Here’s a lunch I made from leftovers that was yummalicious!

Mango Caesar Pasta Salad

• Leftover Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad

• Chopped Mango

Flatbread sandwich

• Leftover London broil

• Baby Spinach

• Tzatziki

• Feta

• Halved Grapes

We didn’t go anywhere or do anything. It was a nice day at home with each other and no scary fireworks this year. I’m pretty much over them, they aren’t pretty enough for the risk.

4th of July

Steak: marinated in A1 peppercorn, salt, and smoked pepper. Wrapped in bacon and grilled. • Bread: homemade ciabatta using the master recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Seriously, anyone who thinks they don’t have time to make bread or do anything more than breadmaker bread, do this. I’m stunned, can’t wait to get the book now, so I can really try it out! • Salad: romaine lettuce lightly coated with a vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, deli mustard, salt, and pepper. • Potatoes: roasted red new potatoes lightly tossed in olive oil then a

few pats of a compound butter madewith garlic, corn, parsley, and thyme • Carrots and peas: inspired by kay’s glazed carrots recipe. Used oregano and ginger instead of thyme, cumin and curry powder.

]]> http://pyxiwulf.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/4th-of-july/feed/ 2 pyxiwulf http://pyxiwulf.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/speech-therapy-at-work/ http://pyxiwulf.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/speech-therapy-at-work/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:44:15 +0000 Shelli http://pyxiwulf.wordpress.com/?p=226 ]]>

It’s been 6 months now.  We’ve been working hard, and she’s been making a lot of headway in the last week or two.  Here is a sample I set up, this is very much how therapy goes.

6 months ago, she babbled at the level of a 6 month old and had no words.  Her current eval puts her at 9-18 months depending on the skill, but was about a week and a half before this spurt started.  I would say that she is closer to 18 months across the board now except she still does not make guttural consonants such as hard ‘g’ and hard ‘c’.  The other skill that we need to work on is using words without either our prompting or having to see the item.  She doesn’t ask for bread and then you get it, she brings you  in the kitchen and sees it and then remembers the word which is what happened between scene 1 and scene 2.

• chicken

• mango

• baby spinach

• tzatziki

• feta

Ingredients:

1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cloves minced garlic (or 1 large clove)
Fresh basil
2.5 tsp sugar
Small onion, minced finely
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp paprika powder
Pinch of chili powder
1 tsp salt (or more or less)
pepper to taste

Directions:

Every Italian (almost every) sauce should have fresh basil in it, so pretty and green and it smells so good. I even own a perfume that has basil in it! But I digress.
Just grab a good handful and give it a quick wash. Not too much basil, though, the flavors should blend in.

Drizzle the oil in a hot skillet and sautee the onions and garlic until translucent, should take about 5 minutes. Make sure they don’t turn brown. Then add the remaining ingredients, except the basil and chili powder. Simmer the pizza sauce for about 20 minutes. Pizza sauces vary in consistency, but I like mine velvety and not too thick. So during simmering, make sure to check the sauce every now and then to see if it needs some water.

After 15 minutes you add chili powder. I always wait until this point because I use extremely hot chili powder and it would be easy to make the sauce too spicy if I add it before simmering. Because of the strength of the powder I only use a pinch – I literally mean a pinch, got these cute measuring spoons that have “Dash, Pinch and Smidgen” on them. What can I say, I’ve Americanized

Now also add the fresh basil and stir. Smell it! So good.

Feel free to omit this step, but I personally prefer a homogenized pizza sauce, so I give it a good spin in the food processor.

Recipe and photographs from kay

1 pound carrots, roughly chopped.
Medium onion, minced.
Garlic (I used 1 clove, grated)
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp ground cumin (1/8 if this is too strong a flavor for you)
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter

In a hot skillet combine the oil and butter. Sautee the onions and garlic until the slightly translucent. Add the cumin, curry powder and thyme and stir in. Plunge in the carrots and give it a good swirl until it’s all combined.

Pour in the broth and add half a tsp salt. Cook the carrots over medium heat (without a lid or the lid cracked, I prefer no lid) for roughly 20 minutes (depending on the size of the carrots, just don’t cook the heck out of them) until the broth has vaporized. Here comes the good part – when all the liquid is gone, the carrots and onions will caramelize giving them an amazing flavor. This should happen after about 15 minutes, make sure you’re nearby then and flip them with a spatula once or twice, or you’ll burn them rather than caramelize them.

The carrots will still have a bite to them, but are incredibly juicy, sweet and fragrant. Give it a try!

From kay, one of my favorite cooks!

Prep Time:45 min

Start to Finish:45 min

makes:8 servings (3/4 cup each)

Original Ingredients
6 medium red potatoes, peeled
6 slices bacon
3/4 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Nutritional Information

3/4 cup: Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 610mg; Total Carbohydrate 30g (Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 4g); Protein 5g % Daily Value Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 8%; Calcium 0%; Iron 4% Exchanges 1 1/2 Starch, 1/2 Other Carbohydrate, 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices 2

Healthified Ingredients
6 medium red potatoes, unpeeled
3 slices bacon
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
3/4 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Nutritional Information

3/4 cup: Calories 170 (Calories from Fat 30); Total Fat 3g (Saturated Fat 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 260mg; Total Carbohydrate 31g (Dietary Fiber 4g, Sugars 4g); Protein 4g % Daily Value Vitamin A 2%; Vitamin C 15%; Calcium 4%; Iron 15% Exchanges 1 1/2 Starch, 1/2 Other Carbohydrate, 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices 2

1. In 4-quart saucepan, place potatoes. Add water just to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer covered, 25 to 30 minutes or until tender. Drain; cool slightly. Cut into slices.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Chop bacon; set aside.
3. Remove and discard bacon drippings from skillet. Add oil; heat over medium heat. Add onions; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, sugar, salt, celery seed and pepper. Gradually stir in water, vinegar and mustard. Cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until bubbly and thickened.
4. Stir in potatoes and bacon. Cook, stirring frequently, until thoroughly heated. To serve, sprinkle with parsley.

stolen from eatbetteramerica.com

Prep Time:10 min

Start to Finish:40 min

makes:12 servings (1/4 cup dip each)

Original Ingredients

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
• 1 can (10 oz) chunk white chicken, drained
• 2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend (8 oz)
• Tortilla chips, if desired

Nutritional Information 1/4 cup dip

Calories 210 (Calories from Fat 160); Total Fat 18g (Saturated Fat 9g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 50mg; Sodium 570mg; Total Carbohydrate 2g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 0g); Protein 9g

% Daily Value Vitamin A 15%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 15%; Iron 4%

Exchanges 0 Medium-Fat Meat, 1 1/2 High-Fat Meat, 1 1/2 Fat

Carbohydrate Choices 0

Healthified Ingredients

• 1 package (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
• 1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing
• 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend or reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions (2 medium)
• Whole grain crackers or celery sticks, if desired

Nutritional Information 1/4 cup dip each:

Calories 110 (Calories from Fat 50); Total Fat 6g (Saturated Fat 3 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 30mg; Sodium 420mg; Total Carbohydrate 4g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 0g); Protein 9g

% Daily Value Vitamin A 8%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 8%; Iron 2%

Exchanges 1 1/2 Medium-Fat Meat, 0 High-Fat Meat, 0 Fat

Carbohydrate Choices 0

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in dressing, buffalo wing sauce and water until blended. Stir in chicken and cheese. Spread in ungreased 1-quart baking dish or 9-inch pie plate; cover with foil.
2. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir; top with onions. Serve hot with crackers or celery sticks.

So my little one seems to have puked out whatever poison she had in her. She seems happy as a clam now. P just took her to bed and she always gives me a kiss and a ‘nigh nigh’ wave. Well, tonight she made me kiss her cabbage patch and the cabbage patch waved ‘nigh nigh’! Heartmelting I tell ya!