Veggie Lasagna Rolls

May 20, 2010

Have I mentioned my obsession with pasta?  I flip through cooking magazines and browse restaurant menus, and all I want is pasta, pasta, pasta!  I’ve decided that as long as the pasta includes veggies, we’re good to go.  This is sort of a fabulous sneaky way to get veggies into your kids too, so if you’re looking for such trickery, here you go.

So this dish is kinda wonderful because it’s really easy to make, and totally delicious.  Also, because it comes naturally portioned, you can decide whether or not your are going to be good (1 roll, please!) or bad (2 rolls, um, give it!) or downright sinful (three rolls — step back from the pan and no one gets hurt!).  I say if you have one roll with a salad that it’s downright healthy!!

If you make a big pan of it (like I might have done, despite us only being only a party of 2), you will have leftovers for days! Share with your friends, be a complete rock star.

Veggie Lasagna Rolls
Adapted from Lea Michele & Edith Sarfati

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large bunch broccoli, stems removed and finely chopped
8 ounces of bagged baby carrots, finely chopped
1 16 ounce box lasagna noodles
32 ounces of ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 24 ounce jar of tomato or marinara sauce
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the chopped broccoli and carrots until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a large bowl and refrigerate until cool.

Easy noodle method: Using the large, rectangular baking pan that you’ll cook the lasagna rolls in, fill it with the hottest tap water you’ve got, and fill it with the uncooked noodles for 20-25 minutes until tender.  Alternatively, you can boil the noodles per package instructions.  I always burn the crap out of myself when I use this method because the pot spits out boiling hot water (in a way that doesn’t happen with small pasta noodles) and then there is all the tasting to make sure they are perfect — again, much easier with smaller noodles.  At any rate, once cooked, lay them flat to cool. Dry the pan, and spread half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Mix ricotta and garlic powder, oregano, basil and salt to taste. Add this ricotta mixture to the bowl with the cooled carrots and broccoli. Add Parmesan and mozzarella, and mix until nicely combined.

Using a spatula (or your hands!), spread ½-cup filling onto a single lasagna noodle, leaving ½-inch at each end so you are able to roll them up!  Roll each one tightly, and place in the pan with the tomato sauce, seam-side down.

After you’ve rolled all the noodles, cook in the oven for 35-45 minutes until warm and bubbly.

Top with remaining tomato sauce, cook an additional 10 minutes, and ENJOY!

Bon appétit!

Mix ricotta

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Blueberry Streusel Muffins

May 2, 2010

It’s a good thing that I have a reasonable amount of self-control, because otherwise I’d live on blueberry muffins, goat cheese and red wine.  Still, no amount of control allows for me to pass up a fresh, warm, blueberry muffin that has a streusel top!  I love that sweet, crunchy top and a warm, soft interior.  You know when blueberries are really plump, sweet and in season?  Well, we’re almost there friends, and I think you’d be a little nutty to not make these at your first opportunity.

Picture this — you’re tired, you’re feeling overwhelmed (or is it just me?) and the oven dings that these beauties are ready.  You pull them out and have to restrain yourself from pulling a pipping hot one out from the tin immediately. You wait a few minutes (only to avoid a scalding finger burn) and then restrain yourself no more.  Slowly peeling the muffin paper, steam releases toward your face, carrying the sweet fragrant scent of fresh blueberries with it. Biting into it, the blueberries burst open and the crumb is moist, and you feel a whole heck of a lot better.  Have a cup of tea and another muffin, and life is good.

Did I mention this recipe is undeniably easy?

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Perfect as printed from Ina Garten

Makes 20 muffins

Note: Wash blueberries in a strainer under running water and pick out any stems and leaves.

  • 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups buttermilk, shaken
  • ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 2 extra-large eggs
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries (2 half-pints)

For the Streusel Topping:

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and blend with your hands. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, and eggs. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a fork, mixing just until blended. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Don’t overmix! With a standard (2 ¼-inch) ice-cream scoop or large spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared cups, filling them almost full.

For the topping, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food preocessor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the butter is in very small pieces. Pour into a bowl and rub with your fingers until crumbly. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the streusel on top of each muffin. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.

ENJOY!

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Mini Corn Bread Bites

March 28, 2010

Truth?  I ate 5 of these straight from the oven.  I double-dog-dare you to not do the same.  The most impossible thing about this little bite-sized treat is that they are just about the easiest thing you can bake from scratch.  In fact, I would go as far to say that they are easier than baking something from a box!  You think I’m kidding/lying/exaggerating?  Oh, do please make them yourself!

Mmm, corn bread.  I love the texture of the soft bite of the actual bread paired with the bursts of miniature crunch that the corn meal adds.  The outside has just enough firmness to make it satisfying when you take a bite, and then you are rewarded with a soft, but texture-y, middle. I’m a little addicted.  I may have to stop typing this and make some more now.

I’m back.

Seriously, you need to make these.

Isn’t anything in miniature just all the more delightful?  I brought these little guys to a party last night and they were devoured almost instantly.  At the same time, what better to pair with an afternoon cup of tea?  An afternoon tea snack and a raging party snack?  Is this a first?

Well, now that I’ve got you all excited, what are you waiting for?  It’s corn bread time, people (there’s also Tuesday “Taco” Time, which has its own song and everything, but that’s a story for another time!).

ENJOY, friends!

Mini Corn Bread Bites
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 3 dozen

Butter, softened, for spreading on corn bread
Vegetable oil spray for muffin tin

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup safflower oil

Preheat oven to 375°. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray (or lightly butter each muffin cup).

Sift together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Combine buttermilk, egg and oil (easiest to do in one big measuring cup!). Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until combined.

Fill muffin cups three-quarters full. Bake until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 11 minutes (check at 9 minutes).

Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Turn out muffins from tin. Serve warm (preferably) or at room temperature (also delicious) with softened butter. Muffins can be stored at room temperature for 2 days (but they won’t last that long, I promise!).

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Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

February 14, 2010

Here’s the thing . . . I could kind of live on scones.  Sure, I have my obsessions with goat cheese and sourdough bread, but a scone is the kind of comforting little treat that is not too sweet, not too savory, and extremely satisfying.  Paired with an afternoon cup of tea it’s delicious, rejuvinating, and probably a smarter way to de-stress than a 2-martini lunch (I said ‘probably’ – let’s not debate it).

I’m a smidge obsessed with finding and making the world’s most perfect blueberry scone.  It’s a situation where all stars need to align — the blueberries need just the right sweetness and pop, the outside needs to turn crispy while the interior needs to maintain its give, and warm from the oven they should hold their shape for immediate devourment (<– I’m not sure that this is an actual word, but does happen to be a death metal band in Dallas – ha!).

Now, depending on the sort of day that you make them (dry, rainy, etc.), the dough might be super sticky and seem impossible to cut into wedges for baking.  Trust me – cut them, fumble to get them on the board, and bake away. Also, handle the dough as little as possible for the softest scones. Seriously, try them, eat them, love them. Relax, breath deep, and take simple pleasures in a scone made right.

Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour (not self-rising)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup (½ pint) fresh blueberries
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with either a Silpat or parchment paper.

Whisk together flours, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers until mixture has the texture of coarse meal.  Gently stir in blueberries.

Whisk together buttermilk, 1 egg and the vanilla. Drizzle over flour mixture, and stir lightly with a fork or rubber spatula until dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in bowl.

Turn out dough onto a work surface, and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate flour. Pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round.  Cut into 12 wedges and transfer to prepared baking sheet.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.  Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 22 minutes.

Transfer scones to wire racks to cool. Scones are best served immediately but can be frozen for up to 1 month and then thawed and reheated in a 350° oven for 10 minutes.

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Cuban Braised Beef with Lime-Avocado Salad

January 15, 2010

It doesn’t happen terribly often, but once in awhile this little voice creeps inside my head and shouts, “Must eat meat!”. I typically enjoy eating mostly vegetarian, but in those times the voice is so loud that it not only manages to drown out the other, more regular, voice telling me to buy more shoes, [...]

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Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk

January 10, 2010

I’m not sure what’s better — eating so much cookie dough you feel sick, or eating so many warm cookies straight from the oven that you feel sick.  Tough call, but a win-win really. I always scout out new chocolate chip cookie recipes in the eternal quest for a crisp outside and chewy, soft inside.  [...]

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Turkey Chili

January 3, 2010

I’m totally into the one-pot meal lately.  How delightful to throw a mess of stuff in one big pot, leave it for awhile, and come back to a meal.  It’s almost as if I had a personal chef!  I don’t know why I looked down on one-pot meals before.  Perhaps I’ve always had that “if [...]

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Lime and Honey-Glazed Salmon One-Pot Meal

December 29, 2009

I was so taken by the ‘lime’ and ‘honey’ part of this recipe that I didn’t realize it was a one-pot meal until I got started.  What’s that about ‘mis en place’ (everything in its place) and reading a recipe?  Although I highly recommend it, who really has the time?  These days, I seem to [...]

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Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

December 20, 2009

I get obsessed with certain ingredients.  I’ve gone cuckoo over leeks, couldn’t get enough of fennel for awhile, and currently (and rather conveniently!) I’m completely into cranberries.  I want them fresh, dried, in baked goods, sneaked into savory dishes — wherever I can get ‘em!  This is not unlike my shoe obsessions, Starbucks cravings, or [...]

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How to Cook Thick Steaks Perfectly

December 14, 2009

Cooking perfect steaks has never been my strong suit.  I’ve tried grilling, pan-frying, seasoning when I first get them home, not seasoning until after they are cooked, blah, blah, blah . . . the results are fine. I detest  fine. I want them to be shockingly good.  I want you to leave my place after [...]

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