Tag Archives: dinner

Lasagna Roll-ups

Posted in Food and Drink, Freezer Meals, Main Dishes, Pasta, So easy even Julie can do it! by

I kept seeing this dish on Pinterest and was dying to try it, but I convinced myself it looked too complicated and time-consuming.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I honestly think in some ways it’s easier than the regular lasagna casserole.

The main benefit of this recipe is that you can freeze the leftovers, or you can freeze the rolls before putting them into the oven.  Either way, they turn out great and you get the coveted two meals out of one cooking session.

The other benefit may be just me being picky, but when I’ve made lasagna in the past, the edges get so crispy that they’re hard to chew.  That might be a personal problem with my cooking method, but with these I did not have that issue.

The main thing to pay attention to is letting the noodles dry after boiling.  This takes a little patience, but luckily I had the time to spare this past weekend!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 box of lasagna noodles, boiled
  • 15 oz. ricotta cheese
  • 1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Boil noodles according to package directions.  Allow noodles to dry completely by spreading them out on cookie sheets or wax paper.

Meanwhile, mix ricotta cheese and thawed spinach.

Pour one cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish.  Reserve the rest for topping.

Once noodles have dried, spread ricotta/spinach mixture across.  Roll up like a fruit roll-up!  Place in bottom of casserole dish, making sure the noodle rolls aren’t touching.  Top with remaining tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 covered with foil for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts.

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Shepherd’s Pie

Posted in Food and Drink, Jim's Specialties, Main Dishes by

This is one of my favorite meals when the weather is getting cool!  It’s so hearty and delicious.  It almost didn’t happen this week.  My friend decided that we were going to do a modified version of the Food Network show Chopped.  He asked my boyfriend to pick out a random ingredient and let us come up with a recipe around it.

Some friends gave my boyfriend some ground venison, so we brought it over to his house as the “mystery ingredient.”  I wanted to make spaghetti bolognese, but I was outnumbered.  In the end I was glad because it couldn’t have been better.

It was a fun game to play too.  The premise of the show is that the contestants are given a basket of food and have to create a dish out of whatever is in it.  Half the time they don’t even know what all the ingredients are (the Rocky Mountain oysters episode comes to mind…)  They end up making appetizer, main dish and dessert, eliminating a contestant with each round.  The one ingredient game tonight was just to see if it worked, but I think it would be fun to have someone else make an entire basket.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. ground lamb or venison
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 cup red wine (optional)
  • 2 lb. red potatoes
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tbs. olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Saute meat of your choice in a skillet until cooked through (about ten minutes.)  Add carrots, celery and shallot.  Saute until softened.  Add garlic, saute one minute.  Add tomato sauce and red wine.  Stir and allow to simmer while potatoes finish.

Meanwhile, boil red potatoes in a large pot until softened, about twenty minutes.  Drain and mash.  You can add butter if desired, but it’s not necessary.

Place meat mixture in the bottom of a round casserole dish.  Add mashed potatoes to the top.  Top with shredded Parmesan.  Bake at 400 for one hour.  Cheese will be melted, and casserole will be bubbly.

Not a pretty picture… but so tasty!

 

Creamy Lemon Pasta

Posted in Food and Drink, Pasta by

After a chaotic weekend in downtown Jacksonville for the GA/FL football game, there was nothing I wanted more than comfort food!  My aunt told me about this recipe in an email, and I thought it would be the perfect thing for dinner.

It’s an interesting take on the traditional fettuccine alfredo and originally comes from one of Ruth Reichl’s books.  I wrote about her memoir, Tender at the Bone a few weeks ago and have since read Garlic and Sapphires about her time as the New York Times food critic.  Both were enjoyable reads, and as I mentioned here come with recipes in each chapter.  I changed the recipe slightly and added spinach into the mix.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box fettuccine
  • juice from one lemon
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup) melted
  • 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
  • 1/2 package fresh spinach (optional)
  • Parmesan cheese, as desired

Directions:

Melt butter in a skillet.  Add lemon juice and heavy cream.  Remove from heat, but keep warm.

Prepare pasta al dente.  Stir in cream mixture.  Add reserved pasta water, a little at a time, until sauce is thinned.

Stir in spinach until leaves wilt.  Top with Parmesan.

Creamed Corn Casserole

Posted in Food and Drink, Side Dishes, So easy even Julie can do it!, Vegetables by

This past weekend was really fun because I had a friend visiting from my hometown!  We decided to stay in and cook both nights to save money, so I got to learn a new recipe from her: Creamed Corn Casserole.

This dish is southern cooking at its best!  I honestly thought it was a Paula Dean recipe, but she said that it originally came from her mother-in-law.  To go along with it, we made pea casserole (similar to green bean casserole) and grilled brats and hamburgers on the grill. The corn complimented it perfectly!

Usually when we grill out, I’ll throw some corn on the with cilantro paste as a side dish as I talked about here, but this was a good alternative.  I think it was probably my favorite thing from the whole cook-out itself!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans creamed corn
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2 Tbs. flour, leveled
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • crushed Ritz crackers for topping (I was out of these, so I substituted bread crumbs.)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except crackers.  Top with crackers.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, until no longer soupy.

Spinach and Artichoke Baked Pasta

Posted in Food and Drink, Pasta by

This is a great, vegetarian casserole that is good even to people who like meat!  My boyfriend said he refused to eat just that, and asked me to make chicken on the side.  I bought a couple of chicken fingers at the grocery store to go with it, and he didn’t even eat them.  Not only that, he didn’t even remember they were there because he said this casserole was so good.

I found it on Budget Savvy Diva’s website, which I used when I started couponing.  She has a ton of advice, and a few delicious recipes.  I don’t know if I consider this to be the most budget-friendly recipe I’ve ever come across because it involves so many ingredients, but most of them are already in your pantry.

Honestly, I would make this dish for company it was so good.  It also took less than 30 minutes from start to finish, so if you’re short on time, but want to fill up, this is perfect!

Ingredients:

  • 1 box pasta (preferably penne, shell, or something short)
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, water squeezed out
  • 1 can artichoke hearts
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 4 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan
  • 1 Tbs. lemon juice, plus a little lemon zest
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Boil pasta al dente according to package directions.  Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.

Saute onion about 8 minutes in olive oil.  Add garlic and continue sauteing for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, combine sour cream, cream cheese, Parmesan, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Once onion and garlic are done, stir into pasta.

Stir pasta into sour cream mixture.  Stir in spinach and drained artichoke hearts.  Stir in 1/4 cup reserved pasta water.  Place all ingredients in a greased 13X9 casserole dish.  Top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.  Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes (cheese will start to brown.)

Kitchen Sink Casserole

Posted in Food and Drink, Main Dishes by

I was trying to think of what to call this recipe, and this came to mind because it has everything I had extra in my pantry, so essentially everything but the kitchen sink.  Basically, it’s made up of things that most people have in their pantry on hand, so it’s an inexpensive, easy weeknight meal.  It tastes great to, so that’s just a bonus!

On top of being easy and affordable, it’s healthy too.  I modified the recipe this is based off of to include ground turkey instead of ground beef and significantly less cheese.  Those are two substitutions I’ve found that do not reduce the quality of your meal, but increase the healthy-factor.  Turkey tastes practically the same as beef, with the exception of maybe meatloaf.

When I found out I was lactose intolerant at age 18 I was pretty much devastated.  All of my favorite foods have cheese in them!  One thing I’ve learned over the past ten(ish) years is that being lactose intolerant does not necessarily mean I cannot enjoy dairy sometimes.  It just means that I have to use it in moderation.  I’ve learned that I can enjoy three bites of ice cream and get the same feeling of satisfaction as eating a pint of Ben and Jerry’s without the belly ache.

To get to my point, this recipe initially called for a ridiculous amount of cheese.  I just cut that down to one cup, and I don’t feel like I sacrificed flavor at all.  Sure, there are some meals that have to have cheese in order to be good, but I just save those for when I’m cooking for others so I can have a few bites and move onto something dairy-free.

So, this recipe is healthy, easy and inexpensive.  Unfortunately, it is not pretty so I don’t recommend making it for anyone other than the people you cook for everyday.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 2 small yellow onions, chopped
  • 1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
  • 3 cups cooked rice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups tomato sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Saute turkey, garlic and onions in a pan over medium until cooked through.  Place in a greased casserole dish.  Mix spinach, 1/2 cup cheese and rice together, and stir into turkey.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  Stir into turkey/rice mixture.  Bake 30 minutes, covered with foil.

Remove from oven.  Take foil off and top with tomato sauce and remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Ricotta, Parmesan and Tomato Pizza

Posted in Food and Drink, Jim's Specialties, Main Dishes by

This recipe is another one of Jim’s Specialties.  I got to go over to his house and help him make it this past weekend, and it was so good!  The cheeses blended into the crust perfectly and created a light, flaky crust that was even better than using tomato sauce as the base.

I also got to learn exactly how to roll out pizza dough and keep the air bubbles intact.  Jim described rolling the pin over the dough as “angels kissing” which I thought was a pretty interesting way to explain.  He meant to convey touching the dough lightly, but it didn’t necessarily help me touch the dough lightly because I burst out laughing and leaned forward into the dough.  Oh well, it’s a beautiful image nonetheless.

While this is a more time consuming process than calling your local pizza place, it is worth the effort!  It was perfection!  I can’t wait to try it again on my own and see if I can make angels kiss properly.

Ingredients:

  • fresh, pre-made  pizza dough
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup mushrooms
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 small onion, sliced

Directions:

Begin by caramelizing onions.  Do this by heating olive oil over medium in a skillet.  Use about one teaspoon olive oil per onion.  Add chopped onions and coat, allowing them to saute about ten minutes.  Add a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt to help with the caramelization process if desired.  Continue cooking 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Once the onions are caramelized, add tomatoes and mushrooms.  Saute until softened, about five minutes.  Set aside to cool while pizza dough is baking.

Meanwhile, roll out dough into square or circular shape.  Mix ricotta, egg and Parmesan and spread over top of pizza.  Bake 8 minutes at 500.

Remove from oven and top with onion and tomato mixture.  Return to oven and continue to bake at 500 for another 15 minutes.

Pot Roast

Posted in Crock Pot Meals, Food and Drink, Main Dishes, So easy even Julie can do it! by

Coming home from work and having the house smell like pot roast is one of my favorite smells.  It reminds me of when I was little and my mom would make it.  I’ve made it a couple of times before, and I can remember feeling so accomplished after making it for the first time.  It’s so easy, but I always felt like I would mess it up somehow.  I guess I was daunted by such a large cut of meat.

Tonight I impulsively added the wine because I opened it last week and only drank one glass… I felt bad for wasting it so I’ve been looking for other ways to use it.  It actually worked here, and I probably could have added more, but you can definitely make this recipe without it.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

  • 3-5 lbs. pot roast
  • 1 bag carrots
  • 1 onion, chopped into slices
  • red potatoes
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 bag onion soup mix

Directions:

Place carrots, onions and potatoes in crock pot.  Place pot roast on top.  Add water, wine and top with onion soup mix.  Cook on low 6-10 hours.

Panko Baked Fish

Posted in Food and Drink, Healthy Choices, Seafood by

I’ve been slacking on the cooking lately!  I went to Savannah for my birthday, so I got to enjoy all the food that the city has to offer.  They had so many good restaurants, and I feel a little more cooking-inspired than before I left.  Mmmmm I can still taste those Parmesan garlic grits!

My goal recently has been to save money, so you’ll notice some repetition in the ingredients themselves.  Panko is a good example of that.  It’s perfect for breading chicken, veggies and as I learned last night, fish.

This recipe is almost exactly like my Panko Baked Chicken recipe, but I modified it slightly for fish.  Last week I was lucky enough to acquire some fresh flounder and red bass from one of my boyfriend’s clients.  He’d gone fishing and had a lot leftover, so he was nice enough to share them!  I usually stick to tilapia and salmon because I’m scared to try something else, so this forced my slightly out of my comfort zone (but then I jumped right back into it by reinventing a chicken recipe.)

The results were great though, so I wanted to share!  It was a nice, healthy meal after a weekend of eating out in Savannah.  Seen here with pearl couscous with avocado and black olives added.  Filling while still feeling healthy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. fresh fish, tonight I used flounder and red bass
  • 1 cup panko
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 egg

Directions:

Coat fish in egg.  Combine panko and Parmesan on a plate and dredge fish to coat.

Preheat oven to 400.  Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil over skillet and brown fish for three minutes.

Put browned fish on cookie sheet and bake an additional 15 minutes, until cooked through.

Crock Pot Pizza

Posted in Crock Pot Meals, Food and Drink, Main Dishes by

I’m always looking for healthy alternatives, so when I saw this crock pot recipe billed as “healthy” pizza, I had to take a look.  While I can’t wholeheartedly agree that this is healthy, it is a good alternative to those pizza cravings.  And, of course, it’s delicious, but there really is no such thing as bad pizza.

My favorite part of this recipe is that after hours in the crock pot, the noodles took on a doughy quality that made them taste like pizza dough.  I also liked all the goodies in every bite!

This recipe comes originally from Six Sisters’ Stuff, one of my new favorite websites for crock pot meals.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. turkey
  • 1 lb. spiral pasta
  • 1 cup sliced pepperoni
  • 1/2 cup sliced olives
  • 2 jars (16 oz.) pasta sauce
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Cook garlic and onion on a stove with turkey until browned.  Rinse pasta and place in crock pot.  Add turkey and stir.

Add pepperoni and olives to crock pot.  Add pasta sauce and water, then stir well.  Top with mozzarella.

Cook on low 4-5 hours.  Enjoy!

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