Tag Archives: cheese

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

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Oh you guys–this recipe is a winner. I haven’t been posting recipes as often as I’d like, but I’m making this happen because it’s so tasty and awesome and it was so much fun to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I first encountered lasagna rolls on the internet. In fact, I saw them years ago and immediately wrote them off as too complicated and probably not delicious enough to be worth the (seeming) effort.

Then, in January I went to Arizona to visit my sister Erica and her babies, including the newly minted Joshua (born on New Years Day!).

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Arizona. It’s brown.

Someone brought us a meal the second evening I was there: lasagna rolls. They were so, so good that I immediately decided to make them upon my return home.

Then, the folks at Red Gold were kind enough to send me a promotional kit with the materials to make lasagna. I had everything I needed to make these little bundles of tomato and pasta love. It’s like the stars had aligned, or something.

So on a relaxing Sunday, I got out the step stool and put my baby to work.

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Mix this stuff! Roll that stuff! Bake that stuff!

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And what was I doing while my little one was slaving away? Well sitting on the couch eating bonbons, of course. Heh heh.

How’s the ricotta mixture shaping up over there Alice?

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Good?

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Wait Alice! Don’t eat it! There’s raw egg in there!

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Sorry kiddo. One day you’ll understand.

Phew–that was a close call. Okay, no more bonbons–gotta keep this baby on track.

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Anyway, I gleaned the recipe from Skinny Taste, and man is it good.

And about 2 rolls are just enough to fill the stomach of a hungry adult human.

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And it turns out it’s not so hard to make! Especially if you have a wee one to help with all the important parts–like banging the measuring cup on the counter and tasting the mozzarella.

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For the record, my husband said, “Wow, this is better than actual lasagna.” Then he looked up and said, “Don’t tell my Aunt Laura I said that.”

We can only hope that Aunt Laura doesn’t read this far down into the post. {cue evil laughter}

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

9 cooked lasagna noodles
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
15 oz ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper, to taste
32 oz spaghetti sauce
9 TBS grated mozzarella cheese

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Spread out the cooked lasagna noodles on a large piece of wax paper and let them dry.
  3. Mix the spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, and egg with some salt and pepper.
  4. Spread about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce over the bottom of a 9×12 baking dish.
  5. Evenly spread 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture down the whole length of each noodle. Like thees.

DSC_01966. Roll each noodle, and place them all seam-side down into the baking dish.

7. Ladle the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the noodles, and top each roll with 1 TBS mozzarella.

DSC_02238. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

Ta daa!

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Serve hot!

Alice and I hope you guys enjoy it.

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Yay for babies and food! Two of my favorite things in life.

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Skillet Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe is yet another winner from America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook. And no, I am not their covert sales agent, and I’m not getting some kind of commission off the sales of this cookbook (though if they want an Overt Sales Agent I’d be happy to consider their offer)–I just happen to be on a kick with this awesome volume of deliciousness. And given that I just returned this marvelous tome to the library bookmobile after renewing it the maximum number of times allowed, a little trip to amazon.com has ensured that my kick need not end–ever.

So! This mac and cheese. My husband pronounced it perfect and proceeded to consume 100% of the leftovers over the next 2 days. Crispy on top, firm (but not too firm) and creamy inside, great flavor, using only one skillet–YES. This is only the third recipe that he has ever pronounced perfect, so it’s no small thing that Perfect Mac and Cheese is now joining the ranks alongside Perfect Pork and Perfect Fish.

I sneaked a bite off his plate to see how it reheated the next day, and it was great, unlike a lot of stovetop macaroni recipes, which tend to reheat into a greasy mess regardless of how awesome they were on day #1.

And since I seem incapable of posting about anything these days without including pictures of my tiny bundle of baby, let’s check in with Alice and see if she endorses this recipe.

So Alice, what do you think?

Is this recipe finger-licking good or what?

Well, she doesn’t exactly know how to use her words yet, but . . .

. . . aaargh.

I’ll take that violent hand-eating as a signal that she wishes she could have some.

All in due time, Oh Tiny One. And by the way, have you been dribbling food all over yourself? Because your chin is quite dirty.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

3 ½ cups water
1-12 oz can evaporated milk
12 oz (3 cups) uncooked elbow macaroni
Salt and pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
2 slices white sandwich bread
2 TBS unsalted butter
8 oz (2 cups) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz (2 cups) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1. Heat oven to 475 F with the rack in the middle.

2. In a 12’’ nonstick oven-safe skillet, bring the water, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, ½ tsp salt and the macaroni to a simmer over high heat. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the noodles are tender.

3. While noodles are cooking, tear the bread into large pieces and melt the butter; pulse the bread and butter along with ¼ tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper in a food processor to make bread crumbs.

4. Whisk remaining ½ cup evaporated milk, mustard, cornstarch and Tabasco together, and (once the macaroni is tender) add the mixture to the skillet.

5. Simmer for 1 minute, until slightly thickened.

6. Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the shredded cheese. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. If the mixture seems too thick, stir in a little extra water.

7.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the macaroni and bake for about 10 minutes, until the top is brown and bubbly.

Serve it with buttery peas . . .

. . . and you have perfection on a plate.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Skillet Baked Macaroni and Cheese