Spinach

Pepper and Cheese Lasagna
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Pepper and Cheese Lasagna

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

  1. Prepare noodles conventionally as package directs; drain, separate and set aside.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Repeat except except set aside the shredded cheese
  5. Cook covered on high for 7-10 minutes until hot through
  6. Sprinkle remain cheese cook 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted
  7. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve

Makes 8 servings

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Ravioli Puttanesca
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Ravioli Puttanesca

Love raviolis, they remind me of Sunday dinners at my mother in laws where seconds consisted of her asking, want some more, then grabbing the edge of your plate so no pull away with her. After piling on more than your first serving. She believed a well-fed person was a happy one and with her cooking everyone was happy.

Lyn found this recipe; it was surprisingly quick and easy with great taste. We cleaned our plates.

I made half this recipe since there was only the two of us.

Ingredients
  • 1 lb. cheese ravioli
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/3 c. pitted Kalamata olives (about 15), chopped
    • Note: I had to substitute a can of black that’s all we had
  • 1 tbsp. capers, rinsed and chopped
  • 1 c. grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced
    • Note: will try with a can of fire roasted tomatoes next time
  • 4 c. baby spinach
  • black pepper
  • 1 c. fresh basil leaves, torn
  • Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, for serving

How

Cook the ravioli according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle, about 3 minutes. Add the olives and capers and cook for 2 minutes more.

Add the tomatoes and toss to combine.

Add the ravioli, spinach, and 1 teaspoon black pepper; toss until the spinach begins to wilt, 2 minutes.

Fold in the basil and serve with grated cheese, if desired.

add ravs, tomatoes and spinach and toss to coat until spnage starts to wilt.

Fold in the basil and serve with grated cheese, if desired.

serve
Plate
It was very good as you can see
Fennel + Thyme Crusted Cod with Meyer Lemon, Oil-Cured Olives & Black Forbidden Rice
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Fennel + Thyme Crusted Cod with Meyer Lemon, Oil-Cured Olives & Black Forbidden Rice

Wholefoods had cod on sale so Lyn grabbed a nice piece and a searching we did go. Search for a nice recipe and we found one on gogee.com  We did not have all the ingredients so we substitutes as needed I kept their recipe as is because this is definitely one we plan to revisit.  I give the credit of this meal to Lyn she made the whole thing I was the helper.

see below

Ingredients

  • 1 pound wild true cod, bones removed and sliced into equal portion size
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon dried fennel seed, roughly crushed
  • 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra for garnish
  • 1 meyer lemon (organic lemon or orange may be used, if not available) – Steve: had only fresh squeeze citrus juice no lemon or oranges around. I know Lyn without Meyer lemons hard to believe right?
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 6-8 black oil-cured olives, pits removed + roughly chopped – Steve: We had only sliced olives
  • 1 cup cooked black rice – Steve: did not have used wild rice instead
  • 1 cup cooked barley
  • 1/2 cup baby spinach
  • sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

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How

Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over cod.  Sprinkle crushed fennel, thyme, sea salt and pepper over each.  Rub to coat evenly and set aside.

In a small ramekin, combine the juice of the meyer lemon, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, honey, salt and pepper, to taste.  Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.  When the oil is shimmering, place cod in the skillet.  Cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes, depending upon size, until slightly firm to the touch.  Remove from heat and tent with foil.

To plate, combine the warm barley,  black rice and spinach and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to combine and allow the spinach to lightly wilt.

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Place a couple spoonfuls on each plate and top with a piece of fish. – Steve: I sprayed a 1 cup measuring cup for me and a ramekin with a little oil and fill with rice mixture it formed a nice mound on plate.

Drizzle a spoonful or two of the meyer lemon mixture over top and garnish with black olives and thyme leaves, if desired.

gogee picture

Gogee Version – you can see why we choose this receipe

our version 2

Our Version

our version

our version

Serve immediately + enjoy!

Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie.
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Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie.

Continuing theme a night dinner plan it was vegetarian night again. We have fallen very nicely into the flow and I don’t have to peek at the calendar as much to figure out what tonight brings theme wise.

We love the taste of spinach and cheese but can’t say that I have tried this combination. The best thing was that I came home from work and the house smelled soooooo good. Lyn worked from home and had everything ready for me including a nice glass of wine with cheese and crackers. How lucky am I!

 Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed , and squeezed dry
  • 3 cups cooked brown rice (small grain)
  • 1 cup diced extra sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ cup nonfat milk (we use lactose free)
  • 1 roasted red pepper cut in strips

How

Make sure your wife is working from home 🙂

Preheat the oven to 4250. Generously coat a 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Add Onion and cook. Stirring frequently until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl. Add rice, cheese, pepper and salt to the bowl and stir to combine.

Note: We thought after that some red-hot pepper flakes would be a nice touch if you wanted a little more heat.

Whisk eggs and milk in medium bowl then stir in rice mixture. Transfer to the pie pan and smooth the top with a spatula and arrange the roasted red pepper on top.

Bake the pie until lightly browned in spots about 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie   Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie