Lasagna Filling Upgrade

I had waaaay too many lasagna noodles in the pantry so it was time for some cookin! Finding myself low on cheese I threw in a 1/2 a jar of Alfredo sauce.

That's why Tim and I drink when we cook together. He gets super aggressive with his spices, looking over my shoulder all the time, and I like substituting ingredients that make him say "ew" a lot. There is a lot of laughing and hitting happening in my tiny kitchen these nights. That's probably why we only cook together once a week.

But I think we are on to something here! I want to use this new lasagna filling whenever I can now. Try making your traditional lasagna {layering noodles, tomato sauce, ground beef, mozzarella} and add:

16 oz Ricotta Cheese

1 jar Alfredo Sauce

1/2 package of frozen spinach

1 beat egg

garlic powder

pinch of salt

{mixed all together}

It would have been perfect it I didn't have to skimp on the mozzarella. There's nothing better than a thick, hot layer of cheese baked on top of .... well, everything.

♥

Linguine and Shrimp

Somehow my business gets Parenting Magazine for free now. I didn't know it before but now I really like it! So here's a plug for them. Last week I made a dish based on this recipe by "The Cake Boss".

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

In a baking dish toss 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

1 tsp chopped garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and peper to taste

Roast for 10 minutes

Sprinkle with bread crumbs

Roast another 5 minutes

Boil Linguine

Sautee

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp chopped garlic

add 1 lb peeled/devained shrimp

3 to 4 minutes until cooked

add 1/2 cup chicken broth

Combine pasta, roasted tomatoes, and 2 cups of baby spinach

Toss well and serve.

Here's how I killed/modified the recipe:

I didn't have Linguine so I used spaghetti

I don't use olive oil - I use grape seed

(I'll post more on that next)

I only had a few cherry tomatoes in the garden

so I cut a few medium tomatoes in 4's.

I also didn't have spinach but I always have kale!

I sauteed it soft and threw it in. You couldn't tell the difference!

And one last tweak.

I felt like this would be better if after it was mixed up

I threw it in a cast iron skillet and put mozzarella cheese on top.

I slid it in the over for 15 minutes.

ahhh. That's the stuff!

Try it this way or my way (if you aren't on a diet).

♥

Veggie Spaghetti

Having this blog is pushing me past sharing what I do in the kitchen to trying new things! A friend let me borrow Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook - you know sneaking vegetable purees in your kids food and.... surprise, surprise.... I didn't follow the recipe. Problem number 1: I don't have a food processor. GASP! I know. I'm admitting another thing. I have a food blog and I don't own a food processor. I do own the mini chopper from Tupperware so hopefully that helps your view of me.

So anyway, to get around this problem, I'm going to use my blender again! Here's what I did:

half a head of cauliflower

half a blender of Prego sauce

half a red pepper

But I gotta be honest, the pepper flavor wasn't my favorite. The Cauliflower on the other hand was completely hidden. And G boy (age 5) ate 2 bowls. He NEVER eats two bowls of anything! I'm probably most proud of my picture with the parsley flakes on top. I picked up four spice bottles, including the parsley, at Wal-Mart for $.50 each!

And I learned a new tip from my mom after talking about this recipe. Did you know you can freeze green and red peppers? She says you can! So I used half and sent the other cleaned half to the freezer. I'm not going to tell you to freeze everything (like my mom would) because I have about two shoe boxes of room in my tiny fridge/freezer but I do have the money and the freezer space for half a pepper.

♥