Vegetable Lasagna Rolls

Let's be honest... Making homemade lasagna isn't something you just whip up. I have found this recipe slightly easier to assemble than the traditional layer version, but it takes half the time to bake. I also like that it is how much easier to serve because you have preset servings before the lasagna even bakes. The sauteed squash is so meaty that you won't miss the ground beef or sausage, but you could easily substitute slices of Italian sausage for the squash, or alternate between the two.

4 medium zucchini or yellow squash

cooking spray

salt to taste
1 30 oz. carton ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (separated)

1/2 t. salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Homemade pasta noodles or 1 lb. box of lasagna noodles
4 cups Roasted Tomato Sauce or other homemade or store-bought marinara

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, coated in cooking spray or a light layer of oil. Add enough squash to cover the bottom of the pan and season it with a few pinches of salt.You may have to cook a few batches depending on how big your saute pan is. Toss to cook squash on both sides just until tender and lightly browned. You don't want it to be translucent or it will be mushy and not hold up in the lasagna.

Mix ricotta with egg, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, salt and basil. Set aside.

Heat a large pot of salted water of high heat to cook lasagna noodles. I recommend cooking your noodles even if you make fresh pasta.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat tomato sauce over medium heat just to warm through. If your sauce is runny, bring it to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook it down until it thickens. Spread a thin layer of sauce in a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Make your rolls by laying your cooked lasagna noodles flat. Spread about 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture on the noodle, leaving an inch of space on each end and a 1/2 inch on each side. Top the ricotta with your cooked squash and roll the noodle. Place the roll seam-side down in your baking dish. Repeat until you're out of noodles, cheese and squash. You may need to use a second baking dish.

Top your rolls with the tomato sauce, being sure no noodle surface goes uncovered. Top with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Homemade Pasta

Two simple ingredients elevate a bowl of pasta from great to gourmet: eggs and flour. It's definitely not as easy as opening a box, but if you have the time (and lots of eggs, like I do), you'll experience pasta in a whole new way.

There are a few things that will make the process easier and the end-result better.

Kitchen scale

Stand mixer with pasta-making attachment OR

Manual pasta roller

9 oz. flour (abut 1 1/2 cups), plus more for kneading

6 oz. eggs (about 3)

Place mixing bowl on a kitchen scale and measure eggs. In a separate bowl, measure flour. 

Using dough hook of an electric mixer, mix eggs on low until yolks break. Gradually add flour, scraping the sides of the bowl to push flour into egg mixture. Add more flour if needed to get the dough to begin to form a ball (some will still stick to the sides of the bowl).

If you don't have a mixer, or prefer to do it old school, measure your flour into the mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack eggs in one at a time, incorporating egg into the flour in between each addition.

Turn out your dough onto a floured dough mat or clean counter top. Knead the dough, adding more flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Knead until dough ball is firm and smooth (about 8 to 10 minutes). Cover completely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes up to 12 hours. 

Prepare your mixer with the pasta roller attachment or set up your manual pasta roller. Also prepare a baking sheet with two sheets of wax or parchment paper cut to the same size as the baking sheet.

Alternately, you can roll sheets of pasta out with a rolling pin. 

Divide dough into 8 sections, working with one section at a time and keeping the others covered in the plastic wrap.

With each section, stretch the dough into a small rectangular shape (about 1/4 inch thick) and run it through the pasta roller at the thickest setting two times. Adjust to the next thinnest setting, running it through at least twice. Dust the dough with extra flour. At this point the dough should be long enough for you to overlap the ends and use the roller to connect them into a continuous loop. This will make it quicker to continue rolling the dough out thinner.

Continue running dough through the roller a few rotations each time you go to a thinner setting until you've decreased about 5 settings and your loop hangs at least a foot from the roller.

Cut pasta loop and run remaining dough through the roller. Place back on your dough mat and cut it in half, giving you two sheets of raw pasta that are approximately 12 inches long.

Dust both sides of the pasta with flour and place on your parchment-lined baking sheet, overlapping the noodles. Cover with the other piece of parchment paper while you roll out your next section of dough.

Once you have your pasta sheets, you can use them as lasagna noodles or cut them into other shapes. If you have a stand mixer with multiple pasta attachments, you can run them through a spaghetti or linguine attachment. Or, you can use a biscuit cutter or knife to cut pasta into circles or squares for ravioli.

To cook, heat a large pot of salted water. Boil noodles for 3 minutes. Drain and use in your favorite pasta dish.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs is the quintessential Italian dinner for a reason... it's just so darn good! I use ground turkey in my meatballs. Not only is it healthier, but it will give you the most tender meatball. I cook them in my homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce, but you can use a good jarred sauce or your own homemade tomato sauce.

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground black pepper

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1 large egg, beaten

1 lb. ground turkey

3 T. vegetable oil

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 quart Roasted Tomato Sauce (or marinara)

1 lb. linguine noodles

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add onion, garic, parsley, salt, pepper, oregano, bread crumbs, egg and turkey.  Mix with your hands just until evenly combined. Do not over mix or your meatballs will get tough. Form into golf-ball size or larger. You can make these in advance and refrigerate them for up to a day, but set them out 30-60 minutes before you cook them to get the chill off.

Set a large pot of salted water over high heat to prepare for your noodles. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet that you can put a lid on. Add meatballs and turn every few minutes to brown on all sides. My trick is that when the meatball loosens from the bottom of the pan, they're ready to be rotated. 

Once meatballs are browned on all sides, remove to a clean plate. If you have more grease in the pan than what you want in your sauce, pour off any excess, but do not scrape the pan clean. Pour wine into the pan and scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add tomato sauce and mix to combine. 

Add noodles to your boiling water and cook to desired tenderness. While pasta is cooking, taste your sauce and add anything you think it needs (salt, crushed red pepper, dried oregano, etc.). If the sauce is more runny than you want, this is the time to cook it down a little or add a some tomato paste. Once the sauce is to your liking, add the meatballs back in, put the lid on and simmer for 3-5 minutes to heat the meatballs and ensure they're fully cooked through.

Drain pasta and divide among 4 bowls. Top with tomato sauce, 3-4 meatballs, and Parmesan cheese.

BEV NOTE: Chianti, but any semi-dry red wine will be good. I pick my wine out before dinner and add that to the sauce.

Portobello Mushroom Parmesan

A big, juicy portobello mushroom takes the classic Chicken Parm. in a whole new direction, and it is way easier to prepare. In addition to giving it more of a steak-like quality, the underside of the mushroom cap forms a perfect bowl for holding lots of sauce and cheese. Serve it on top of pasta tossed in your favorite sauce and it's a filling dinner.

4 portobello mushroom caps

2 T. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Roasted Tomato Sauce (or marinara)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 lb. pasta

1 cup Pesto (or other sauce of your choice to dress your pasta)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium meat. Begin heating salted water to cook your pasta in.

Place mushrooms (gills up) in the pan and sauté for 10 minutes or until tender on the cooked side. Sprinkle the gills with salt and pepper, flip the mushrooms and sprinkle salt and pepper on the cooked side. Sauté another 5 minutes or until the gills start to soften and release the juices of the mushroom. 

Remove the pan from the heat. If your skillet is oven-safe, flip the mushrooms in the pan so the gills are facing up. Top each with 1/4 cup of tomato sauce, 2 T. mozzarella cheese and 1 T. Parmesan cheese. If your skillet isn't oven-save, move the mushrooms to a baking dish and dress the mushrooms in there.

Add pasta to boiling water. Place mushrooms in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to turn brown. Turn the oven broiler on and allow to broil for 1 minute before removing from oven.

Drain pasta (reserving at least 1/2 cup pasta cooking water). Add pesto to hot noodles, and toss, gradually adding pasta water until the noodles are all coated in pesto and your sauce reaches the desired consistency. Divide the pasta among four bowls and top each with a mushroom cap.

BEV NOTE: The pesto pairs well with a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

Pesto pasta

I love to make my own pesto in the summer when my basil plants are growing faster than I can use them. I put some away in the freezer for winter to be reminded of the fresh flavors of summer. Adding some vegetables to the mix makes this a great stand-alone meal.

1 cup homemade Pesto or store-bought
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

2 T. olive oil

5 sprigs fresh thyme

1 t. coarse salt, plus more for seasoning

freshly ground pepper

1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups green beans, cut in 1-inch pieces (fresh or frozen)

1 lb. spaghetti or linguine noodles

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange tomatoes (cut-sides up) in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with thyme sprigs and roast for 15 minutes, or until tender but still holding their form. Remove thyme sprigs and set aside. 

While the tomatoes are roasting, bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes. reduce heat slightly and boil potatoes for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside. 

In a small saucepan, add 1/2 inch of water, green beans and a sprinkle of salt. Boil the water and steam the green beans until slightly tender (time depends on if you're using fresh or frozen). Drain excess water and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of pasta water when you drain it. Return pasta to the pot you cooked it in and add roasted tomatoes and their juices, potatoes, green beans and pesto. Stir, gradually adding enough pasta water to help the pesto coat the pasta and vegetables. Serve hot.

BEV NOTE: Pairs well with a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio

Vegetable Lo Mein

I never order lo mein at Chinese restaurants, but this is easy enough to make at home and I think tastes better than what you get at most restaurants. It does take a bit of time to make, so ordering take-out will definitely be quicker!

I've tried to minimize the amount of ingredients that I don't already have in my pantry. If there are ingredients here you don't have, either leave it out, substitute for something similar, or make the investment and just fix this lo mein a couple more times this year!

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (or fresh if you want to splurge)

3 eggs

1 t. sesame oil (can substitute or omit)

4 cloves garlic, minced

fresh ginger, peeled and minced, no more than the garlic (can substitute 1 t. ginger powder)

1/4 cup soy sauce (divided)

1 T. sugar

1 T. dry sherry or Chinese rice wine (substitute any sweet wine or omit)

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 small turnip, cut into matchsticks (substitute other hard vegetable or omit)

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage

3 T. canola, peanut, coconut or other oil with a high smoke point

1 lb. lo mein noodles or whole wheat spaghetti

1/4 cup stir-fry sauce

In a small saucepan, boil 3 cups of water. Remove from heat, add dried mushrooms and cover to allow mushrooms to reconstitute (at least 10 minutes). 

Whisk eggs and sesame oil and season with salt if desired. Pour egg mixture into non-stick skillet over medium heat. As eggs begin to cook, move cooked parts to the middle of the pan to allow for uncooked egg to fill in the exposed edges, making an egg cake. Put a lid on the skillet for a minute to get any liquid egg on top to cook. Transfer to a plate to cool, and then cut into strips.

Drain mushrooms (reserving the mushroom water to add to a beef or vegetable broth in the future) and squeeze the liquid from them. In a small bowl, combine mushooms, garlic, ginger, sugar, 2 T. soy sauce, and dry sherry or sweet wine. Set aside, allowing to marinate for a few minutes.

Chop cabbage, carrots and radish. Heat a large pot of salted water to cook noodles. Heat 1 T. oil in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.

When water boils, add noodles, cooking according to package instructions. Add mushroom mixure to hot wok and cook, stirring continually for about 3 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked and garlic and ginger are very fragrant. Remove from pan and add remaining 2 T. oil. Add cabbage, carrots and radish, stirring continually until vegetables reach desired tenderness (I like them with a little crunch still). Add a few spashes of soy sauce once vegetables begin to wilt to encourage them to steam.

Drain noodles and add to wok, along with mushroom mixture and egg strips. Stir in stir-fry sauce and toss all ingredients until well combined. Serve hot with soy sauce and Sriracha hot chili sauce.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

The peak of summer, when our garden tomatoes are ripening so fast they're falling off the vine, is like Christmas to me! I have to admit that I don't love the taste of a raw tomato... it's got to be salted, sauced, or heated to some degree to make me crave it. This recipe for roasted tomato sauce does all three, and I can't get enough. The only trick is finding a summer day that's cool enough to want to turn on the oven! Once you've got the sauce made, you can use it in a thousand quick dinners throughout the week (like my no-bake lasagna recipe below), or freeze it to save for a winter day when the delicious taste of a vine-ripe tomato is still several months away.

Ingredients

2 lbs. Roma and grape tomatoes, cored*
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 T. chopped fresh oregano
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

*These smaller varieties of tomatoes lend themselves to this recipe because you don't peel or seed the tomatoes here. They have thin skins, small seeds and are naturally sweeter than the larger varieties. I only core the romas. Grape tomatoes are too small to worry about a core.


Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients in an oven-safe skillet, large enough so the tomatoes are not overlapping too much. You want them in a single layer so they can roast evenly. Toss to coat the tomatoes with the oil and spices.

Roast for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and stir so any blackened areas are facing down. Return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes. Keep your eye on them so they don't char, but get lightly blackened on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to warm or room temperature.

After the first 30 minutes of roasting.

After the second 20-30 minutes of roasting.

Add tomato mixture to food processor, in batches if necessary, and pulse until chunky thick.

Before serving, reheat and add any other desired seasonings or spices to accommodate the recipe you're using it in. For my no-bake lasagna, I use it as is!

No-Bake Lasagna
Serves 4

Lasagna isn't a typical summer dish, but when you don't have to bake it, it's a quick dish to whip up on those days you wouldn't think of turning on the oven!

Ingredients
Roasted tomato sauce
1 lb. lasagna noodles, cooked and cut into squares
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb. sautéed vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, mushrooms)
4 stalks fresh basil

Instructions

Reheat tomato sauce over low heat. Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions, and then cut into squares. Sauté vegetables in 2 T. olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (I usually use just one veggie variety, but you could mix and match, or even use meat instead.) Combine ricotta cheese with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup parmesan (reserving the rest of the parm for a topping).

To assemble lasagna, set out four serving plates and start with a light layer of tomato sauce on each. Top with one lasagna noodle square. The filling layer is ricotta cheese, sauteed veggies, a few torn basil leaves, and a little sauce. Repeat this two more times, making three layers of noodles and filling.

Top with one final noodle, a little more sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan and a few more basil leaves. This is so hearty and delicious, you don't need a salad or a side of garlic bread. Just a glass of wine and you're set!

The Roaster Chicken that Could - Day 3

If you've had enough of chicken after the first two meals, chicken soup a quick way to use your remaining chicken and broth, and it freezes easily. Thaw it on a day when you need a quick lunch or dinner, or save it for when you or someone else in the family comes down with a cold.

Basic Ingredients
1 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
remaining chicken broth
rice or noodles
salt, pepper and seasonings to taste

Instructions
Heat oil in a stock pot over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, fresh or dried herbs of your choice (and other desired veggies that need to soften) and sauté until tender. Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add rice or noodles and cook covered until they reach desired tenderness. If using other veggies, like greens, add them at this time too. Add chicken and let it heat through for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf before serving.

PS - I used home-made linguini noodles here, but that's a subject for another day!