I think I enjoy the cooking more than eating, there is nothing better than to watch the smile grow after someone’s first bite. Note from Steve: I am a flow of thought writer and apologize up front if I lose you. My family is used to it.
We went to visit Sofie on Saturday, Gail was out with her girlfriends and Mike was home with Sofie. On a recent visit he had mentioned raviolis so we brought the makings for Ravioli Puttanesca. This is a good switch up from ravioli with pasta sauce and this time we had Kalamata olives not just the black made a huge different added that tart kick. While I was bringing the water to boil Lyn jump in and became my sous chef. Got to say I enjoyed that, I’m usually my own along with chief bottle washer. It was a great lunch.
Sofie enjoyed some sweet potato, Spaghetti was very interested in both.
So I came home and on the counter was an old yellowed recipe that we haven’t seen for years. Lyn was having a craving and laid out the dish, box of lasagna pasta and had already prepared the spinach and broccoli. This is an interesting recipe everything but the initial pasta cooking is made in the microwave. You can tell the age by the one step that was rotate pan half way through, if you remember way back there was either no tray and it never rotated during cooking.
Ingredients
6-9 lasagna noodles
2 carrots shredded
1 small onion chopped –Steve Note: I used red I had half of one left over
1 red or green pepper, cut into thin strips
10 ounce of frozen chopped broccoli or spinach thawed and drained. Steve Note: Lyn had prepared a combo of each but used fresh.
I added 4 mushrooms sliced.
1/2 tsp of salt
15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
Optional 1 egg beaten Steve Note: like to add this to ricotta binds it together.
2 cups of shredded Fontina, Swiss or other cheese. Steve Note: Did not have enough mozzarella or provolone so I grabbed a stick of cheddar and shredded it. BTW take minutes and is way cheaper than buying already shredded. The cheddar turned out a nice choice went well with the veggies.
Lyn’s pasta sauce Steve Note: The recipe did not call for but I put small amount on bottom and top (before the last topping of cheese).
How
Prepare noodles conventionally as package directs; drain, separate and set aside.
in 12×8″ backing dish cook carrots, onion and pepper covered on high 6-8 minutes until tender-crisp stirring half way through. Spoon into bowl and add broccoli. In separate bowl combine egg, and salt and a real good pinch of dried basil.
thin layer in baking dish then top with three noodles. top that with half the ricotta cheese mixture and top that with 1/3 veggie mixture then 1/3 shredded cheese.
Repeat except except set aside the shredded cheese
Cook covered on high for 7-10 minutes until hot through
Sprinkle remain cheese cook 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted
This was a cook from the gut meal, I had three large meatball in freezer, some of Lyn’s leftover pasta sauce and some green pepper and sweet onion. I rough/fine chopped the meatballs.
Saluted the onions add to sauce with the sliced green pepper then heated until the green peppers were slightly tender.
These Vietnamese spring rolls are fresh, not fried! They’re the perfect party appetizer or light meal. The peanut sauce sends them over the top. Recipe yields 8 spring rolls.
SCALE1x2x3x
INGREDIENTS
Spring Rolls
4 ounce rice vermicelli or maifun brown rice noodles*
2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cup torn butter lettuce, ribs removed
2 cup very thinly sliced red cabbage
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks or sliced into strips with a julienne peeler
4 Persian (mini) cucumbers or 2 small cucumber, thinly sliced or sliced into strips with a julienne peeler
4 medium jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add gluten free spaghetti or ramen noodles and cook until al dente. BEFORE DRAINING, carefully scoop out 1 cup pasta cooking water then set aside. Drain pasta then return to pot.
Meanwhile, combine peanut butter, gluten free Tamari, coconut sugar, sesame oil, Siracha chili sauce, ground ginger, garlic, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice in a small bowl then stir to combine – it’s ok if the sauce isn’t completely smooth.
Add sauce, green onions, and minced peanuts to the hot pasta, plus a few Tablespoons pasta cooking water, then stir until noodles are coated and the sauce is completely smooth. Add more pasta cooking water as needed to reach a smooth consistency.
Scoop into bowls then serve with lime wedges and toppings.
Ok we had leftover ground sirloin and what to do with it was the question. We went from Lasagna, can’t don’t have the cheese or pasta then it was tacos and then Lyn kicked in and she made this delicious meal Spaghetti Ragu!
2 tablespoons sweet paprika (smoked would be interesting)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken at end
Boiled egg noodles, for serving
How
Spread the onions in the bottom of an 8-cup slow cooker. Toss the beef with the flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and place on top of the onions. Top with the bell peppers and garlic. Stir together the broth, paprika, tomato paste and caraway and pour over the beef. Add mushroom Cover and cook until the meat is very tender, using slow cooker setting for 4 hours. Uncover turn to sauté when bubbling add cornstarch mixture and let stand at least 5-10 minutes until thickens. Serve over egg noodles add a dollop of sour cream.
Melissa, my pseudo adopted daughter, and family sent us a nice cheese package for Xmas and one was manchego cheese. Lyn saw this recipe in the Boston Globe and we tried and will try again and again. Of course, I cut it in half since there were only two of us but here is the complete recipe for 4.
From Milk Street: The idea for this pesto came from Spanish romesco, a heady sauce that counts nuts, olive oil, smoked paprika, and dried ñora peppers among its ingredients. In keeping with the Spanish theme, we use manchego cheese, a semi-hard aged sheep’s-milk cheese with grassy notes, a subtle piquancy, and a salty-savory finish. A generous dose of oregano adds bold herbal flavor and freshness.
Note: I used a heaping tablespoon of dried, since my fresh is buried under 15″ of snow
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup drained roasted red peppers, patted dry
1 pound Fusilli pasta (you could use whatever pasta you like)
In a food processor, pulse the manchego to the texture of coarse sand; transfer to a bowl. Process the almonds, oregano, paprika, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper until finely chopped, scraping the bowl. Add the manchego and half the oil, then process until smooth. Add the peppers and remaining oil; pulse until creamy.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup water, then drain. Toss the pasta with the pesto, adding cooking water as needed to help the sauce cling. Season with salt and pepper.
What is Fusilli (foo-SILL-ee) it is a type of Italian pasta shaped like curly spirals or little springs. Fusilli is often served with thicker sauces like meat sauces and heavy cream sauces, since the grooves in the pasta trap sauce. The word fusilli comes from “fuso” meaning spindle—a spindle rod is traditionally used to spin the strips of pasta into a spiral shape.
Gourmet Dad, Don’t Let The Title Fool You 