Thursday Night Recipe Exchange: Spinach Recipes
Recipe Exchange cross-posted at Balloon-Juice.
I thought last week went really well. Thanks for playing along. This week we delve into spinach recipes. I used to hate spinach. This is probably because I am a child of the 70′s and the only spinach I ever saw was canned or frozen, with the consistency of slime. As an adult I discovered fresh, baby spinach and I never looked back. One of my favorite spinach recipes is Spinach Lasagna.
JeffreyW's stuffed manicotti with spinach
To get us started:
Spinach Lasagna
This is one of my most requested recipes. Every time I make it, someone wants the recipe. Since the prep time is long, I usually only break it out for special occasions. It freezes well, so you can make a double batch and freeze two 8×8 pans of uncooked lasagna for two more meals. Thaw the night before (in the refrigerator) and cook until heated through, about 45 minutes to an hour. This recipe is great vegetarian, or you can add ground beef and sausage if desired.
This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and another hour to cook. It easily serves 6 – 8
Sauce:
- 3-15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2-6 oz cans tomato paste
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp oregano, crushed
- 3 tsp basil, crushed
- 3 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely grated
- pinch of sugar (reduces acidity of the tomatoes)
- Optional: ½ lb ground beef and ½ spicy Italian sausage, browned
Saucepan
Add all ingredients to saucepan on medium-high, stirring constantly until it begins to boil lightly. Turn to low and let simmer while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Lasagna:
- 1 pkg lasagna noodles (16 oz), cooked and placed in cool water until layering*
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 oz fresh baby spinach, washed and dried and chopped
- 1 egg
- 12 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
13×9 baking dish (I prefer glass), lightly oiled
To prepare: Mix ricotta, spinach and egg until well blended. Ladle a layer of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover in a single layer of noodles. Ladle sauce over noodles. Spoon ½ of the ricotta mixture evenly (if you place large dollops evenly like putting cookie dough on a baking sheet, fairly close together, it will spread as it cooks, no need to smooth it). Layer 1/3 of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Repeat: noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, noodles. On top of the last layer of noodles, add remaining sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncovered – I like to place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills as it bubbles. Place knife through the center, if it comes out heated through, remove and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. If it needs more cooking time, you can cover with foil to keep the cheese from burning and cook 10 more minutes. Let stand uncovered before serving.
*if you’d like to make your own noodles, here is the recipe I use:
Lasagna Noodles
When I do make the pasta, I make three, pan-sized noodles, rolled very, very thin. I place them uncooked in the dish, so they absorbed much of the sauce. I usually make a bit extra sauce to serve on the side with the lasagna.
- 3 cups unbleached flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
In a large bowl, add flour. Make a well in the center and add egg yolks, eggs and salt. Mix well with a fork. Mix in water, 1 tbsp at a time until dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a well floured board or pastry sheet. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll one ball out as thin as possible (I use a marble rolling pin, you can also use a pasta machine). Make sure to cover remaining balls with a damp towel until ready to use. Cut to fit pan. Repeat with remaining dough until you have 3 pan sized noodles. DO NOT COOK homemade noodles before putting lasagna together. Follow directions above for putting lasagna together.
Next Week: Favorite Super Bowl Food
Singing Pizza Man
From ABCNews.com
I loved this guy. And the part about cooking and singing for his wife was adorable. I come from a family of Italian romantics, so I can assure you it was half BS and half unabashed romantic.
I can’t embed the video, but click on over for a little Tuesday fun.
Tacos and enchiladas
I’ve been in a mood for Mexican the last few days. Enchiladas are always good, and we took the time to fry some corn tortillas for tacos tonight, Made the usual sides of guacamole, Spanish rice, refried beans, and pico de gallo. My homemade salsa keeps getting better as it ages. I snuck in huevos rancheros while Mrs J was gone to the shelter today.
Enjoy!
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Mini Boston cream pies
Mrs J was noodling about in the kitchen and turned these out. No real recipe, just some yellow cake mix, a generic vanilla pudding, and some ganache loosely copied from this recipe. We don’t keep any instant coffee around so that ingredient was eliminated. She tasted the ganache and decided it needed some sweetener so she added a bit of Splenda. They just came from the freezer to firm the chocolate topping in the picture. Most excellent little things. Most of them will go to the shelter tomorrow with Mrs J.
Chicken Gumbo
Sorry about the light posting, we’ve had some work in the kitchen done – some new countertops along with a new sink. That didn’t take too long, and didn’t cause me any pain or suffering. Taking the old countertop to the basement and installing it in a corner down there did take some time and effort. Noticing the lighting was poor hit me when I was weak and feeling handy. Gah. Nothing for it but to replace a dozen cheap shop light fixtures with more cheap fixtures. But hey! They have electronic instant on gizmos!
Now I wait for the new single bowl sink to fit into the hole the old one came out of so Mrs J can have a nice dog wash/deskunking station. It’s near where a clothes washer was installed so the drain and water hook ups are close by and pose no particular problem for this old plumber. Now then, where was I? Ah –
Just a basic gumbo, this one with chicken, Andouille sausage, and tasso.
Guest Recipe: Apple Lasagna
My friend Larilyn makes these all the time for her work potlucks. I finally got around to asking her for the recipe when she made one this last weekend. I’ve yet to taste one, but they are a popular item at the potlucks. Maybe someday…
Apple Pecan Lasagna
Total preparation time: 30 mins
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
- 8 Lasagna noodles (no boil or boil and drain your own
- 2 cups Shredded Chedder Cheese
- 1 cup Ricotta cheese
- 1 Egg, slightly beaten (may use 1/4 c. egg beaters)
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 3 1/2 cups Apple pie filling (3 – 20 oz cans)
- Cinnamon (to taste)
- 1 cup Pecans (chopped)
- 1 lb Pork Sausage (Optional)
Steps:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 in. glass baking dish. Combine cheeses, egg, sugar and almond extract in medium bowl; blend well. Spread 1 1/2 cans apple pie filling over bottom of prepared baking dish. Layer half the noodles over filling, then spread cheese mixture over noodles. Sprinkle cinnamon to taste and 1/2 of chopped pecans. Top with remaining noodles, then remaining apple pie filling and cheese. Sprinkle a touch more cinnamon and remainder of pecans.
If using no boil lasagna noodles, be sure that noodles are at least 1-inch away from pan all the way around pan as they will expand. Cover with foil and bake lasagna 1 hour. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 mins. (45 total mins if using cooked noodles). Cool for exactly 15 mins. Cut into squares and serve. Makes 10 very large servings, 12 nice size servings.
This recipe may be cut in half using a 7 x 11-inch pan. You may make this up the night before. Cover with plastic wrap then foil and refrigerate. Next morning, remove plastic wrap, replace foil and bake.
Great served with ham slices or pork sausage and a side of fruit. For a more hearty lasagna serving, you may add a layer of browned pork sausage after first layer of cheese.
She says the original recipe came from here.
Sesame Brittle
I made a quick batch of sesame brittle today. I love this stuff and it’s so easy to make. Of course it would have been quicker if I’d remembered to oil the wax paper. It comes off unoiled, but it’s a slow process.
Originally from March of 2010:
Sesame Brittle
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- salt
saucepan, wax paper and baking sheet
In saucepan over high heat, melt butter and sugar and stir to combine. Without stirring, cook until mixture becomes a light to medium caramel color, about 3-5 minutes, then add sesame seeds and stir in. Pour mixture onto a well oiled wax paper or well oiled parchment paper covered baking sheet and spread into an even, thin layer, about 1/8 to 1 /4-inch thick, with wooden spoon. Shape will be irregular, but don’t worry, you are just going to break it into pieces after it cools anyway. Immediately shake a bit of salt over top of mixture and lightly press into caramel using spoon. I used less than a 1/4 tsp for the entire mixture and that was plenty, though your mileage may vary. Allow to set-up for about 10-15 minutes. When brittle has hardened and cooled, break into pieces and enjoy. Store in an air-tight container.
National Western Stock Show
Six Horse Teams - 84 draft horses in all
It’s a big deal in Denver. I’ve never been but a friend had tickets and asked me to go tonight. It was interesting. We attended the Draft Horse Show (which had quite a few mules, too). There was the typical fair food – turkey drumsticks, fried dough and one I’d never heard of before, deep fried corn on the cob – it was dipped in batter first. Some I tried, that one I passed by this time. Maybe at the 4th of July festival.
Saw lots of livestock. Was amazed at the mule pole bending trials – where mules run full out and around poles. They were fast and agile. Beautiful to watch perform.
Until then my only experience had been with draft mules – the larger of the mules, made for pulling heavy loads. They’re fast, but nothing compared to these smaller riding mules. I know first hand they could move fast, because I’ve been at one end of a pasture calling a pair while holding their apple treats. They flew through the field and it was all I could do to hold my ground while 2 tons of 9 foot walls ran toward me, but they stopped on a dime and I rewarded them for not mowing me down. And in case you’re ever in the need to make friends with a mule, they have a soft spot for having their ears rubbed.
We didn't get to the big rodeo, but did see the Stick Horse Rodeo
By far the favorite event of the entire evening was the 6-horse team wagons. Beautiful animals, beautiful wagons and by the end of the event there were 84 draft horses lined up in a row. That’s over 210,000 lbs of animal. Thundering hooves. And I saw my first Clydesdales and Belgian Draft horses.
Now I can say I have been to the stock show. A few of the moments:
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Majestic
It was 65 degrees plus today, so I was fortunate to get a ride in between wind storms. Got a few nice shots along the way. Click on any photo to see full size. The hawk photo is uncompressed.
A hawk hanging out in a solitary tree near the path.
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Waterfall on the St. Vrain River
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This guy was beautifully poised up against the barn, until he saw me. He was two paddocks and a small field away from me, but rushed to the fence to get some attention. So I missed the shot I wanted, but still he is a cutie. He was offended I had no treats for him and soon shunned me after the next shot.
I do believe he is a mustang. His coloring is right, but he seems much bigger than the average mustang. It looks like I may be going to the Stock Show on Saturday. Between the riding lessons and this I may be turning into a cowgirl.
Thursday Night Recipe Exchange
Note to W4DS readers: I’m going to be putting together a recipe each Thursday for Balloon-Juice. It will cross-post here. It’s going to be a kind of recipe sharing event. I encourage you to hit our comments and share your recipes, too. And come on over the Balloon-Juice, just be aware it’s a left-leaning political blog and things can get very rowdy (even in a cooking thread) and it’s rarely PG. They are good people and always fun to have a conversation with, no matter your political leanings. Here we go:
- Photo from JeffreyW’s mouth watering collection
Aloha Balloon-Juicers. I’m back. I wish I could say I was back from a long trip abroad, but no, life has just been very busy. That has not changed, but after quite a few requests, I think I have figured out a way to bring recipes back to Thursday nights with the limited amount of time I can devote to it. Unfortunately, for now, I won’t be doing full menus.
What I proposed to John and Anne Laurie was to have a recipe exchange. Each Thursday we’d have a theme (I’m a sucker for a theme) or an ingredient to focus those recipes (but by no means restrict them) and everyone could share their favorites. Each week I’ll give you the next week’s ingredient or theme so you have a whole week to think of something great to share. Anne Laurie would probably gladly accept photos, too.
Now I expect all those people who emailed me and touched base with me in open threads wondering when I might post recipes again, to participate in this endeavor. Don’t make me come in there!
This week we’re starting out simple with my favorite comfort food and a recipe I thought many of you would have a favorite variation they could share. Like most of my recipes, this is pretty simple and even a novice cook should be successful. Experienced cooks will tweak it beyond recognition, as all good cooks do.
Next week our secret ingredient will be spinach. So come prepared to share a favorite recipe with spinach in it, in some shape or form. Here’s some baked macaroni and cheese to start things off. Hope you enjoy – TaMara (BHF)
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
I like mine garnished with fresh chopped tomatoes and jalapeños.
- 12 oz elbow macaroni
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/8 tsp onion powder (about 2 shakes)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 cups milk
- 3 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 oz shredded jack cheese
- 4 oz crushed potato chips
large sauce pan, small sauce pan, large casserole dish
Bring water to boil in large sauce pan, add macaroni and cook according to package directions. In small sauce pan, melt butter, add flour, onion powder, salt & pepper blend well and then add milk. Stir constantly over medium heat until bubbly, add cheese, stir until melted. Drain macaroni, put into casserole dish, stir in cheese sauce, top with crushed chips and bake 20 minutes at 350°, until top is light brown and cheese is bubbly.
Click here for a Green Chili Macaroni and Cheese recipe and click here for a Chipolte Macaroni and Cheese.
TaMara
jeffreyww
LFern7
indylib
