Tag Archives: Recipes

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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Mustard Pork Chops

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Why have I been blogging about food so much recently? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a simple progression of facts that goes something like this:

brother-in-law John staying with us = less (read “no”) leftovers = what are we going to eat?? = must cook more = increased perusal of cookbooks and magazines = exciting meal plans = utter deliciousness = must share via blog

When John leaves us mid-August to pursue his MA, I know it will be a shock to our systems. Suddenly there will be leftovers in the fridge. I’ll start asking myself in a confused fashion, “why is there so much food lying around?” (I can see this coming because this is exactly what happened last summer after he moved out) Leftovers will start decaying before we even have time to eat them. This will lead to guilt, which will lead to less cooking, which will lead to less awesome recipes being made.

Noooo!

What I’m trying to say is that I enjoy cooking for more than two people. And I will miss John’s table-side enthusiasm for the things I make.

But now it’s time to stop talking about John and start talking about pork.

I love the idea of pork, but it’s so easy to cook it wrong and end up with a mouthful of dried-out blah. Another delicious recipe from Nigella Express, I love these chops. If your experience of pork is a dry, flavorless affair, this just might be the recipe that will change everything.

It’s simple to make: a little tenderizing (to get your aggression out), a little frying, and three simple ingredients for a sauce that will send you to the moon.

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Also, a brother-in-law can come quite in handy for wielding the meat-smashing mallet.

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And for clean-up, I recommend that you obtain a couple of willing men so that you can put your feet up afterwards and demand that bonbons be brought to you pronto.

Aaaaaah.

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Ingredients

(Serves 3-4)

4 pork chops
1 ½ TBS olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 cup hard cider
2 TBS wholegrain mustard
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. To make the garlic oil, put the garlic through a garlic press and immerse in the oil for about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic, and the oil is ready to go.

2. Trim the fat off the pork chops. Score a light diamond pattern on both sides with a knife and the smash them until they’re thinned out. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the pork chops and cook them for 5 minutes on each side. Remove them to a covered plate to keep them warm.

4. Pour the cider into the pan and let it bubble up, scraping up any brown bits.

5. Add the mustard and cream to the pan. Let the sauce cook for a couple minutes, stirring. You can consider the sauce done at this point; it will be light in color, runny, and perfectly delicious.

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6. Or, you can let the sauce continue to bubble away for 8-10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, and it will thicken into a gravy-like gelatinous consistency with a stronger flavor. Also delicious!

7. Pour the sauce over the pork chops and serve.

For your reference, here’s a picture of the chops with the lighter sauce:

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And here’s a picture with the darker sauce:

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Oodelally it’s good. Thanks, Nigella. Or, as my sisters and I like to say in the most obnoxious, glitzed-out movie-star voice you can muster, “spanks!”

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