Weekend Dinner - Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna Roll-ups

A few months ago, I made lasagna with a homemade turkey meat sauce.  As a result of that recipe, I have had a box of semi-used lasagna noodles in my cupboard ever since.  To use up this box of noodles somehow, I started browsing the internet for recipes.  Turns out, there is this thing out there called lasagna roll-up which is like a regular lasagna but comes in self-contain packages.  Great, that's a good idea; but what fillings am I going to use?  The meat sauce last time was good but I do not want to make it again; I just scrubbed down my stove to return it to its original glory!  Besides, we've had so much meat this past week with Christmas.  So after some more browsing, I found a recipe that seems both tasty & easy to do.

To make 8 lasagna roll ups...
     2.5 cups mushrooms, diced small
     4 cloves garlic, minced
     6 ounces baby spinach, chopped
     8 lasagna noodles
     10 ounces whole milk ricotta
     1 egg
     0.2 cups grated Parmesan
     2 cups pre-made tomato pasta sauce
     1.5 cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese, grated
     Salt & pepper to taste

This shouldn't take too long...
     Cook the lasagna noodles 1 minute less than the package instructions
     While the noodles are cooking, sauté vegetables until the water is released; season with salt/pepper
     In a bowl, combine together egg, ricotta, & parmesan cheese
     Lay cooked noodles on a flat surface & spread on a thin coat of the cheese mixture
     Top off each noodle with a layer of the vegetables & roll them up carefully
     Arrange the lasagna rolls in a single layer in a shallow baking dish
     Cover the lasagna rolls with a coating of tomato sauce & sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
     Bake at 350F for 25 minutes

The end product was pretty good & it took a lot less time in the oven than a traditional lasagna.  It was was also definitely much easier serving out the individual roll-ups than trying to cut out rectangular pieces.  I used the Trader Joe's tomato basil marinara sauce & it was too sweet for my liking.  Are all pre-made tomato sauces so sweet?  I bought a block of mozzarella & tried to grate it with my Microplane but I guess it was too soft a cheese to grate.  It worked, but it took a lot longer & a lot more work to get just enough cheese to cover the top.  From now on, I am either going to use a box grater or buy shredded mozzarella & call it a day.

Weekend Dinner - Shrimp & Asparagus Capellini with Garlic Olive Oil Butter Dressing

Per usual, the Boyfriend & I had no plans for dinner & had nothing ready to cook in the house.  Being the creative one, he blurts out: "how about capellini in a garlic butter sauce with shrimp & asparagus?"  I was totally surprised this came out of his mouth because he hates shrimp!  But hey, who am I do deny him of shrimp?  So we went out, got the ingredients, came home, & I got right to work executing his vision.

In the reusable grocery bag...
     6 ounces of capellini or angel hair pasta
     1 pound of shrimp (~24) , shelled & deveined
     1 bunch of asparagus, sliced on the diagonal
     4 cloves garlic, finely minced
     2 tablespoons butter
     0.25 cup olive oil
     Red pepper flakes, salt, & black pepper to taste

Ready.  Get set.  Go...
     Keep the shrimp in a bowl of salted iced water in the fridge for a few hours
     In a small sauce pan & blanche the asparagus for 3 minutes, set aside
     Cook the pasta to 1 minute less than the package instructions, drain well
     In a pan, melt butter with half the olive oil over low heat
     Sauté the red pepper flakes & the garlic until they are lightly browned
     Over medium-high heat, cook the shrimp until they are just turning pink
     Add in the asparagus & stir everything together
     Add in the cooked pasta & toss until all the ingredients are well incorporated

   






















I don't buy shrimps often because, like I keep saying, the Boyfriend doesn't eat it; so I have no clue what I should look for or where I should go.  The ones I used I got from the Chinese supermarket & they were a little bit mushy & more shrimpy than the ones Mom gets from the regular supermarket or Costco.  These shrimps came with shells & veins which was a giant pain to take care of.  One really good & quick way to devein shrimps is to stick a toothpick under the flesh/vein & gently wiggle the whole GI tract out.  Because it is so easy to overcook shrimp, I recommend cooking the pasta ahead so it is ready to go when the sauce is ready.  I didn't really like butter because it added a funny taste to the sauce; I think it would be OK to replace that with more olive oil.  I know asparagus is not exactly a winter vegetable, but what would be a good substitute?

Weekend Dinner - Turkey Lasagna

I don't go out much on weekends anymore...actually I never did go out a lot on weekends, but I digress.  So instead, I cook dishes that are more complicated & too time consuming for a week night after coming home from work.  I don't know what made me want to make a lasagna since I haven't made one since sophomore year in college & it sucked.  Maybe it was the 2 for 1 lasagna noodle sale @ Safeway.  Maybe it was the random pack of ground turkey I found in the back of my freezer.

The ingredients list is long but it's easy to find in just a few section of the store...
    11/2 pounds ground turkey
     1/2 onion, minced
     2 cloves garlic, crushed
     28oz (1 can) crushed tomatoes
     12oz (2 cans) tomato paste
     13oz (2 cans) tomato sauce
     1/2 cup water
     12 lasagna noodles
     16oz (1 tub) ricotta cheese
     1 egg
     3/4 pound mozzarella, sliced
     3/4 cup grated parmesan
     11/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
     1/2 teaspoon oregano
     Salt & black pepper to taste

There are a lot of steps, but it's worth it in the end...
     In a large pot, cook the ground turkey, onion, & garlic until the meat is browned
     Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, & water
     Season the sauce with Italian seasoning, oregano, & salt/pepper
     Cover the pot & let the sauce simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally
     Cook the lasagna noodles for 2 minutes less than the instructed time
     In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese with the egg
     Assemble the lasagna in a 9x13 baking dish in the following layers:
          11/2 cups meat sauce
          6 lasagna noodles, overlapping lengthwise
          1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture
          1/2 of the mozzarella slices
          11/2 cups meat sauce
          1/4 cup parmesan cheese
          6 lasagna noodles, overlapping lengthwise
          The rest of the ricotta cheese mixture
          The rest of the mozzarella slices
          The rest of the meat sauce
          The rest of the parmesan cheese
     Spray a piece of foil with non-stick spray & cover the baking dish
     Bake the lasagna at 375F for 25 minutes covered & 25 minutes uncovered
     Let cool for 15 minutes before serving

I used crushed tomatoes & tomato sauce that already had some seasoning in it to help boost the flavor since I didn't get the dried basil or the fennel seeds.  But for some reason, the dish was still too sweet for our liking.  Be prepared for some serious stove cleaning after making this recipe because no matter how low you turn down the heat, the tomato sauce will splatter everywhere when you try to stir it every-so-often.  Oh and watch your fingers too because the sauce will get you & that does not feel good.

Weekend Dinner - Tuna Casserole

I wasn't exposed to my first casserole dish until I moved to the United States @ age 12; I think it was a green bean casserole that time.  I didn't understand why people would want to throw a bunch of stuff into a glass plate & then stick it into the oven for an hour.  Dude, it's beans!  They cook in like 10 minutes!  And why the heck would you cook beans with cream soup?!?  The concept of a casserole befuddled me & I wasn't exposed to it again until a couple of years ago the Boyfriend made me tuna casserole.  While still confused about the whole deal, I was hooked.

We don't make this dish very often since he doesn't really like canned tuna, but we do it sometimes when we want something that we can make a big batch of in very little time & not have to stand over it as it is cooking (maybe that's the motivation behind a casserole?).

The ingredients are simple...

     3 cups medium shell pasta

     10 ounces canned tuna in water, drain & flake

     1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

     3/4 cup water

     11/2 cup frozen vegetables

     Salt & pepper to taste

The steps are even simpler...

     Cook the shell pasta according to the instructions on the package

     In a baking dish, combine tuna, Cream of Mushroom soup, water, salt & pepper

     Once the pasta is cooked, drain it & add it to the baking dish

     Add in the frozen vegetables & mix everything together

     Bake at 350F for 1 hour, uncovered

And there it is.  A great way to add some texture to this otherwise soft dish is to crunch up some potato chips & add it on top; I particularly like using barbecue flavored chips. The top of the pasta gets a little dry from the oven which makes me think I should cover the dish for most of the hour.  But would that make the dish more soupy?  Or maybe I should use more water? 

Weekend Dinner - Turkey Chili

One of the things I like to do on weekends is to cook a big portion of something that we can bring for lunch & reheat for a quick dinner throughout the next week.  I particularly like making chili since it is filling & we can just eat a bowl of it without having to bother with rice, potatoes, or any other kind of starch.  When I was on Lent many months ago, I made a vegetarian chili that I liked a lot.  But now that I can have meat again, I need a new chili recipe.


The grocery list called for...
     11/2 pounds ground turkey

     1 yellow onion, chopped

     1 green bell pepper, chopped

     1 can kidney beans

     1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes

     1 cup water

     1 tablespoon garlic, minced

     11/2 tablespoons chili powder

     1/2 teaspoon paprika

     1/2 teaspoon oregano

     1/4 teaspoon cayenne

     1/2 teaspoon cumin

     Salt & black pepper to taste

All you have to do is follow the steps...

     In a large pot, brown the ground turkey in a little bit of oil

     Add in the onion & bell pepper; cook until they are tender

     Add in water, kidney beans, crushed tomatoes, & garlic

     Season with chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne, cumin, salt & pepper

     Bring the whole thing to boil

     Reduce heat & let simmer for 30 minutes

It sucks that I don't have a picture but all chili look about the same so you can imagine what this one looks like too.  We happened to have some really spicy salsa leftover from a taqueria in the Mission in our fridge so I threw that into the pot and it gave the chili some really good heat; just reduce the amount of water by 1/4 cup.

Weekend Dinner - Cajun'esque Panko Crusted Cod

I am a huge salt'water fish lover; but the Boyfriend...not so much.  So to get him to not only eat but actually enjoy some fish, I had to get a little creative.  I found the original recipe on Group Recipes which used Halibut but I don't see why I couldn't experiment with cod instead.  The end result was really, really, spicy so I am reducing the amount of peppers used in the recipe that follows.


To make this recipe, you'll have to get...
     2 medium cod filets
     3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
     1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
     1/4 teaspoon salt
     1/4 teaspoon black pepper
     3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
     1/2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning*
     3 tablespoons olive oil

And then all you have to do is...
     Thoroughly dry the filets making sure all the liquid is out
     In a plate, combine the flour with the cayenne pepper
     In another plate, combine the panko & the Cajun seasoning
     Dredge the filets in the olive, the flour, & then the panko (you have to press hard)
     Put the filets onto a foil-lined cookie sheet & bake at 350F for 15 minutes

The fish comes out really moist & perfectly cooked with a crispy crust on top.  The bottom crust was a little soggy but that's to be expected as it sat touching another surface completely.  What can I do to get that bottom crust crispy too?!?  We had our filets with some rice & veggies but you can eat it with pasta or even with a little bit of a cucumber salad which can help alleviate some of the heat.

* Homemade Cajun seasoning: combine in a bowl: 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, & 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Weekend Dinner - Linguine in Turkey Meat Sauce

So we went out to brunch @ Outerlands & brought home a loaf of their delicious bread.  What can one do with a whole loaf of bread?  We thought: garlic bread!  But we can't really eat just garlic bread for dinner, can we?  So to have something accompany the bread, I whipped together my own spin on the classic spaghetti & meat sauce.

What I dug out from my fridge...
     1/2 box of linguine
     1 pound ground turkey
     2 medium tomato
     2 cups white button mushrooms
     1/2 jar of tomato basil pasta sauce
     Several fresh basil leaves
     Garlic, salt, pepper, &  chipotle powder to taste

How I made something edible from the ingredients above...
     Fill a large pot half way up with water & start getting it to a boil.
     In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey with some salt & pepper to give it some flavor.
     Put some oil into a large pan & heat it up.  Brown the ground turkey.  I found it easier if you let the meat sit for a little bit & then break it up into little clumps.
     Drain the water/juice from the ground turkey and let it sit.
     While the turkey was cooking, cut the tomatoes into segments and remove the seeds.  Then cut them into large dices.  Wash the mushrooms, dry them, & cut them into slices.
     Once the pot of water starts to boil, salt it generously and then put in the linguine.  Cook the noodles to 1 minute less than the instruction on the box (mine took 9 minutes).
     In the same pan you browned the turkey, heat up a little bit of oil & some minced garlic.  Once the garlic turns a little bit brown, toss in the mushroom & let them wilt down a little bit.
     Add in the turkey & the tomato sauce & let the whole thing simmer for 5 minutes.
     Season with salt, pepper, & chipotle powder (optional) & toss in the tomato dices.
     Keep the sauce on the lowest heat possible until the linguine is ready.
     Roll up the basil leaves tightly & cut into thin strips...or chiffonade if you want to get all technical.
     Just before you add the pasta into the sauce, toss in the basil.  Quickly incorporate everything & serve.

From beginning to end it took about 45 minutes & there was enough for 4.  The chipotle powder gave a good dose of spiciness & the sauce was perfect for the garlic bread to soak up.

Weekend Dinner - Super Healthy Veggie Chili

Being on a meatless diet means I eat twice as much as I usually do; but at least it's vegetables that I am putting into my system.  Still...I don't like looking @ a great big bowl of food & the feeling of eating that much quantity'wise.  So I came up with the idea to make something hearty so I can feel full without eating like a beach whale.

I found this recipe on Healthy Endeavors & I made some adjustments according to my taste.  Even though the overall cook time was a bit long, the prep was pretty painless & it was mostly just watching over the pot to make sure bad things weren't happening.

The list of ingredients is not too long...
     2 zucchini.  Something non'traditional to make the chili more filling.
     2 red bell peppers.  You can use any color but I like red.
     1 medium yellow onion.  I think 1/2 is enough because the whole one was a bit much.
     2 Beefsteak tomatoes.  Get a few more if you're going to use a Roma.
     1 lemon for its juice.
     1 teaspoon of garlic paste.  No real garlic because they will just sprout in my fridge.
     1 can of diced tomatoes.
     1 can of kidney beans.
     1 can of garbanzo beans.
     1 can of corn kernel.
     1 package of Chili mix.  I got lazy & didn't buying all of the individual spices.
     1 teaspoon of chipotle powder.
     1 tablespoon of Sriracha.  To give this chili a real kick.

And the steps are quite simple...
     Dice the zucchini, bell peppers, onion, & tomatoes.  I cut them kinda big so they wouldn't get cooked down to little itty bitty bits of nothing.
     Heat up some oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add in the garlic paste & after the garlic starts to smell a little, add in the onion, the zucchini, & the bell peppers.  Sautee them for about 7 minutes until the onion turns translucent.
     Reduce the heat to low & add in the tomatoes & the can of diced tomatoes - along with the juice & half a can's worth of water.  Stir everything around & then toss in the package of chili mix.  Stir again to make sure that it's all dissolved into the liquid.
     Cook this over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
     During this time, drain & rinse your beans & corn kernels.
     Once the time is up, add in the beans, the corn, & juice of the entire lemon.  Season with the chipotle powder, the Sriracha, & some salt/pepper.
     Mix everything together & let this cook over medium-low heat for 15 more minutes.

And you're done!  You can eat this alone or you can have it with a bit of rice.  You can even scoop it up with some bread.  A spicy, delicious, & super filling way of eating healthy yet creative.

Weekend Dinner - Squash Beans & Kale "Minestrone"

My partner's mother got me a butternut squash a couple of weeks ago & I finally have time to cook it.  Coincidentally I had read about a recipe in Self magazine that I wanted to try out that uses butternut squash.  Perfect!  I ended up deviating quite a bit from the original recipe because I didn't have all the ingredients.  But the end product was still delicious.

Here are the ingredients I used...
     1 quart of chicken broth
     2 cups of water
     1 can of diced tomatoes with the juice (I was feeling lazy)
     1 can of cannellini beans (the original recipe calls for kidney beans)
     5 cups of butternut squash, cubed
     7 oz of kale, chopped (I used a 10oz bag of chopped kale from Trader Joe's for $1.99)
     Salt & black pepper to taste (I also added some chipotle powder for kick)

And this is how it went...
     In a small pot, boil some water & blanch the cannellini beans for a couple of minutes.  I did this to get rid of the gooey gunk that canned beans usually sit in.
     In a large soup pot, bring to a boil the chicken broth, water, & tomato.
     While waiting for the soup base to boil & for the beans to blanch, peel & cube up the butternut squash.  This was 1 of the hardest things I have had to do in cooking.  I did find out though, that my ceramic knife is far superior to my metal one.  I used the entire squash which came out to about 5 cups even though the recipe asks for only 3.

     Once the soup base is boiling, add in all of the butternut squash cube.  Season with a little bit of soil & let it all boil for 15 minutes.
     After the 15 minutes, add in the kale (making sure to submerge it into the soup) & the beans.  Once the soup comes back up to a boil, season with black pepper & a tiny bit of chipotle powder.

There you go!  A delicious, healthy, warming meal...all in 1 bowl.  Oh, & did I mention it's anti-cancer too??

Weekend Dinner - Hot Pot

One of my favorite things to do when I go home to see my parents is to have hot pot.  I like it because all 3 of us get to sit down and spend a good amount of time together; usually cracking stupid jokes.  I think my mom likes it because she doesn't have to cook; even though she still spends a lot of time doing prep work.  I can't figure out why my dad likes it though...hmm.

Weekend Dinner - Spicy Zucchini Pasta with Chicken

It was Saturday night which means I get to spend a little bit of time in front of the stove & actually cook a real meal.  This usually also means making a bit of extra to bring as lunch the following week.

I have been meaning use up a packet of whole wheat linguine that has been sitting in my cupboard for a few months but I didn't know how I should cook it.  When I went to the grocery store today, I unknowingly started looking for summer squash only to realize that they weren't available because...haha...it's not summer anymore. Fortunately, I was able to find good-looking & cheap zucchinis so I decided to cook it up with some onion in a tomato sauce.  For protein, I used chicken tenders just cause I had them sitting in the freezer.

The whole thing was pretty easy to make & it took only about 20 minutes.

So here is what you'll need to do for preparation...

     Take an onion - red, white, yellow doesn't matter - & cut them into thin slices.  I used a quarter of an onion because I was cooking for only myself.

     With the zucchinis, scrub with water to get rid of the waxy coat on the outside.  After that, cut off both ends and slice thinly.  If you're not good with a knife, I found that it is easier if you keep the stem end on so you have more to hold on to.

     Chicken tenders are great because they are already in these thin strips & I can just season them with a little bit of salt/pepper.  Chicken breast & high can be substituted since they tend to be cheaper.  Cut them up into strips or leave them as they are.

Now on to the cooking...

     Depending on how much pasta you're cooking, bring the appropriate amount of water to a boil (when in doubt, you'd rather have more water than no enough).  Add in a good bit of salt & cook the pasta according to directions on the package.  I take 1 minute off the instructed time because I like to toss my pasta in the sauce for a little bit before serving.

     In a pan, heat up some oil - whatever kind you like - on high heat & sear the the chicken.  This doesn't take too long, just until the outside to look totally cooked & go a little bit beyond that.  Obviously if bigger pieces of chicken is being used, add an additional minute or 2.  Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.

     In the same pan, heat up some more oil on medium heat & add in the onion.  Once the onions have turned a little translucent, add in the zucchini.  Add some salt/pepper & 2 spoonful of the pasta water.  I added chipotle pepper powder too for heat.  Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 3 minutes. After the time is up, turn the heat to low; add in 1-1.5 cups of store-bought pasta sauce (I like the tomato basil from Trader Joe's) & stir everything around.  Add the chicken back in and let it cook for a few more minutes.

     At this point, I took the chicken back out because the pieces get in the way.  I took the pasta out of the water & transferred it immediately to the sauce.  Using tongs, mix everything together until it looks nice & delicious.  Serve the pasta on a plate & place the chicken pieces back on top.

That's it!

It might seem complicated to have to cook the pasta, make the sauce, & cook the meat.  But things can be done @ the same time so it's not too bad.  I made enough to feed me for dinner, another portion for lunch, & I still have un'sauced pasta that I can make in other ways.