Meatless Spinach Lasagna

Another day, another recipe. We've been on a veggie kick here lately. We tried this dish (though I realized later that I didn't totally follow the directions) on Monday. It made A LOT of food. So, be prepared. If you're going to make this lasagna...invite a crowd over for dinner. We gave it an 9 on the "do we want to eat this again?" scale. It was GOO-OOD! (And yes...I do take every opportunity to use my blue Burleigh china...in case you're wondering why it's in every photograph of food I take. It makes me happy.)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 -3/4 cups half and half

1 cup heavy whipping cream (I didn't say this recipe was good for your hips...just yummy)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 cartons (15 ounces each) Ricotta cheese

1 pkg (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 medium zucchini, grated

3/4 cup shredded carrot

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

12 no-cook lasagna noodles

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded, part skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 tbsp butter, melted

Directions :

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add creams. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and the nutmeg.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, zucchini, carrot, salt, onion powder and remaining parmesan cheese.

Spread 3/4 cup sauce mixture in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Layer with four noodles (noodles will overlap slightly), half of the ricotta cheese mixture, 1 cup sauce and 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese. Combine bread crumbs and butter. Sprinkle over lasagna.

Cover and bake at 375 (degrees F...for my British friends who might crank their centigrade ovens to 375 and burn the house down) for 55 minutes. Uncover (dish will be full); bake 10-15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Yields: 12 servings.

Anyway, Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken and Summer Veggie Sandwich

OK...so I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight and OH MY HECK was it fabulous! We'll rate this one a 10 on our food scale (10, by the way, stands for "I'd eat this every day if I could"...1 being "I'd rather eat cardboard". None of the "1" recipes make it to this blog. Thank goodness. I don't think I've ever actually made a recipe like that, but I've seen a few. Ran across one once that was a mixture of cottage cheese and frozen mixed veggies. The lady who submitted it said it was good...but it LOOKED like vomit, and combining the ingredients in my head, I was pretty sure it would taste like vomit too. But, I digress...) This is a grilled chicken and summer veggie sandwich that will knock your socks off! And, if you're like me and trying to cut a couple of pounds...it's not bad for that either!

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (more if you like alot of meat on your sandwich...but the veggies really do add alot of substance to this baby...so less is more in my opinion.)

1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise (I used a vegetable peeler to slice mine)

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and quartered

1 small red onion, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup prepared Italian dressing (divided in half)

1 loaf ciabatta bread (14 oz), halved length wise

2 tbsp olive oil (accept no substitutes...this adds some oomph to the sandwich)

1/4 cup reduced-fat mayo (or if you're throwing caution to the wind, like I did tonight, use real mayo)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp grated lemon peel

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the zucchini, pepper, mushrooms, onion and 1/4 cup salad dressing. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Drain and discard marinade.

Meanwhile, grill chicken, covered, for 7-10 minutes on each side, basting frequently with remaining 1/4 cup Italian dressing. (You can tell chicken is done when you prick it with a fork and the juices run clear). Remove chicken from grill, cut into slices, and keep warm.

Brush cut sides of bread with oil; set aside. Place vegetables on grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender. Remove and keep warm. Grill bread, oil side facing the heat source, over medium heat for 30-60 seconds or until toasted.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, peel and garlic. Spread over bread bottom; sprinkle with cheese. Top with chicken, vegetables, and remaining bread. Cut into four slices. Yield: 4 servings.

*If you're feeling adventurous, just like to march to the beat of your own drum, hate to be told what to do, or just hate feta cheese, zucchini, or whatever else...use this as a loose guide. Hey...that's what I do! You didn't think this was actually the recipe I got from the magazine, did ya? I made it my own thing. The recipe in the magazine was an idea maker...not a strict "how to". So, take out the mushrooms, add some fresh tomatoes, forget the feta and go with cheddar, use your own funky raspberry balsamic vinagrette instead of the Italian...whatever makes you happy. After all, cooking is about the creative process. It's expressing yourself in edible form. And creativity equals joy in my book!

Birthday Cinnamon Rolls

So, Weslee just had his 2nd birthday...and what better way to celebrate than a huge pan of freshly made cinnamon rolls? We had lots of fun making and sharing these babies with the neighbors. Here's the recipe if you'd like to cook up a celebration at your house! (Um...and note that if you DON'T want your cinnamon rolls literally swimming in frosting, cut the frosting recipe in half).

Ingredients for Rolls:

2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)
2 tbsp dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 egg
5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour

1/3 cup melted butter
1/2- 1 cup brown sugar
cinnamon to taste

Directions:
In a large bowl of electric mixer, combine water and milk powder, stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes on medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and the remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand). Add about 1/2 cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. (Add flour in 1/2 cup increments until desired consistency is reached. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. I used 5 cups when I made the recipe here in England). It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour.

Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about 1 tbsp of oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. This keeps the dough from drying out. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a sink filled 1-2 inches with warm water. Cover sink with a cutting board or pan to lock in moisture. All dough to rise until doubled in size.

Sprinkle cutting board or counter with flour and place dough on floured board. Roll out into a rectangle. The dough should be 1/4 inch thick when you're done rolling it out. Spread melted butter to within 1 inch of the sides of the dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up from the short side like a jelly-roll. Cut into 1 inch thick rolls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before frosting.

Icing:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup shortening
4 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup water

In a large mixer bowl, combine all ingredients. Beat until very creamy and light. Serve over cinnamon rolls.