Back at it again Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Ok so once again I have been MIA... I am not going to lie this blogging thing is tough to keep up with...but I am back and ready with lots of recipes.. I might have been MIA from blogging but Not from the kitchen, I have diligently been taking pictures and documenting my cooking endeavors. First up is one of those recipes that I have probably pulled out of magazines a gajillion times.. And of course never made! Story of my life...no really if you could see the piles and piles of recipes ripped out of mags..my nemesis! Ok back to the recipe drum roll please....

Spinach Lasagna Rolls....

I love lasagna as it is but I loved the idea of how portable these were.. Because they are rolled up they are easier to pack up for lunch or to bring over to my parents house. ( I'm a good doobie and cook for them often.. I realized that after all this time saving the recipe it was pretty much the same as my regular lasagna so I dumped all that paper lol and winged it.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Preheat oven to 350'

Items needed: Baking Dish 9 x 13

10 lasagna noodles, only need 8, 2 extra just on case, cooked per directions 1

10 oz pkge spinach, thawed and completely drained** very important to drain well

1 15 oz container fat free ricotta cheese

1 c Mozzarella cheese

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1 egg

32 oz jar of tomato sauce of choice

Salt and pepper

Pour 1 cup sauce in baking dish In a large bowl mix the ricotta, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella, 2 tbs of the Parmesan, salt, pepper and the spinach, mix well.

Lay a nice size piece of wax paper ( I didn't have any so I used parchment paper worked well but wax is probably better. Lay lasagna noodles down on the paper and pat dry

Take 3/4 c of the ricotta mixture and spread onto the noodle evenly, roll each one carefully not gonna lie some will come out the sides... But do your best to keep all in there lol




Place each noodle seam side down in the baking dish Repeat with remaining noodles and ladle sauce over them and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese

Cover with foil and bake about 40 minutes until cheese is bubbly then remove foil and just slightly brown the cheese yummy!!




Ladle some sauce on a plate to serve and enjoy!!

****To drain the spinach really well place in a kitchen towel and squeeze until ya can't squeeze no more!!!

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese

Over Chrismakuh I exchange gifts with the girls in my office, we do secret santa, and this year I lucked out, not only did I get a lot of cute little stuff  I also received Rachel Rays cookbook, Look and Cook. I love it, there are so many great recipes, some that we have already made over and over again because we love them so much!! There are several recipes that we earmarked to make and this is one of them. We love all things Mac and Cheese and also love to experiment with different kinds, and this was one we hadn't made at home yet. So when I saw this easy to make and easy on the eyes recipe, I had to make it. In my version I used canned artichokes only because that was what I had on hand but it tasted great anyway. So once again use what have.... 

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese 

ever so slightly adapted from :

Rachel Ray's Version

Items Needed:

Large Stock Pot

Large Saute pan 

Casserole Dish

• salt
• 1 lb Penne pasta
• 2 tbsp EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 2 c. milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon or to taste
• 1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
• 1 can quartered Artichokes, slice in half again if desired 
• pepper
• 1 1/2 c. Fontina cheese, shredded , plus additional for sprinkling on top
• 1 1/2 c. Parmigiano cheese, grated,  plus additional for sprinkling on top 

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.
• Meanwhile, place a medium pot over medium-low heat adding 2 tbsp olive oil, and the butter. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook the veggies until very soft, about 10 minutes. Then heat the broiler and position rack in the middle of the oven. 
• Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute then whisk the wine into the pan, cooking for another minute to burn off the alcohol
• Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a bubble. Add the nutmeg, spinach, artichokes, salt and pepper to the sauce and simmer until thickened and vegetables are warmed through, 2-3 minutes more. Add 1 cup of each of the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.
• Toss the prepared sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle some more Fontina and Parmigiano over the top and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Eat and Enjoy!!!!!

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Salads weren't always on the menu in my house. Then came the New Years resolution to eat better and exercise. So you know what that meant, back came the salad and with that a lot of the same old thing, usually a Caesar with yogurt dressing and either chicken or shrimp, which is good don't get me wrong but can get very boring. I wanted a new go to salad, so I looked around to see what I had on hand, and spotted a lone apple just sitting in the fruit bowl. And that's when it happened that little light bulb in my head went off, Spinach Salad with apples and Goat cheese. And finally a new salad was going into the salad rotation. I decided to make my own dressing, a Balsamic Vinaigrette that gave a nice tang to the sweetness of the salad.  You will notice there are no real measurements for this, you can use as much or little of each ingredient based on your likes and dislikes.

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Items Needed:
Melon baller, you'll see....

• Spinach
• dried cranberries
• goat cheese
• bread crumbs 
• 1 Fuji apple, cored and sliced
• pecans
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
• 1-1 1/2  tsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard 
• salt 
• pepper

• Wash and dry spinach and divide on plates
• Combine olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt and pepper to taste in a mason jar** or bowl  and mix, adding more or less of any of the ingredients depending on taste
•  Using the melon baller scoop out 4 scoops of the goat cheese and flatten, roll in bread crumbs and bake in oven for 5 minutes or so until just warmed thru. 
• Add dried cranberries, pecans, and apples to salad and place 2 goat cheese patties on top of salad. 
• Drizzle with Balsamic Vinaigrette**

** I always keep some mason jars on hand for dressings and marinades, it makes it very easy to add all of your ingredients and shake away!!! 

**This made enough dressing to have for later in the week.  


Eat and Enjoy!!

Any other salad ideas out there???