Vegetarian Lasagna

Good evening, people.

Tonight, I made vegetarian lasagna for dinner. 

I used whole grain lasagna noodles to boost the nutrient intake of the dish.  I try not to use "white" noodles if I can help it.  The whole grain kind taste delicious and are, obviously, better for you.  You want to follow the package directions on the box for cooking the noodles, but you will want to undercook them by about 2-3 minutes because they will continue cooking in the oven. 

I used three different cheeses:  ricotta, cottage cheese, and shredded mozzarella.  I mixed the ricotta and cottage cheese in a bowl and seasoned it with fine sea salt & pepper, as well as some fresh chopped basil (I happened to have it on hand).  I left the mozzarella in the bags it came in until I was ready to use it.

For the sauce, I used canned plain tomato sauce, tomato paste, lots of garlic, fine sea salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh basil, dried marjoram, dried oregano, dried thyme and dried mint.  I combined all of the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and heated on medium-low until heated through. 

To make it vegetarian, I sauteed (separately) zucchini and baby bella mushrooms in some garlic oil until tender.  For both veggies, I first heated some olive oil in a cast iron skillet on medium heat and added a couple smashed cloves of garlic to the pan and let the garlic infuse in the oil.  After I was satisfied the garlic had infused the oil enough, I removed all of the garlic and discarded it.  Then I added the vegetable to the pan and sauteed it until it was tender.  I used two zucchini sliced in half lengthwise and then chopped into 1/3" pieces.  For the mushrooms, I used a medium package of baby bella mushrooms that I wiped clean with a damp paper towel and then chopped them into 1/4" pieces.  I cooked the mushrooms first, then put them in a bowl.  Then I did the zucchini in the same pan. 

After it was all ready, I layered everything in a 9x13 pan.  I finished with a layer of noodles, ricotta/cottage mixture, the rest of the tomato sauce and then topped it all off with some mozzarella.

I baked the lasagna at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.  I recommend letting the lasagna sit for about 15-20 minutes to allow it to cool and not fall apart as much when removing a piece to enjoy.  :)

Ginger

I thought I would also try to give you some tips on how I like to prepare my fresh ginger when a recipe calls for it.  

If you read my very first post, then you will know I love the Cooking Channel, as well as the Food Network.  I have seen some of the cooks/chefs on these stations not peel their ginger before they use it.  Before that time, I had always seen them use a spoon to peel away the skin of the ginger.  After seeing some of them not peel it, I decided I would do the same and save myself some time.  I always thought peeling it was annoying and an unnecessary step, and now I've been validated!  

Before I prepare the ginger, I remove it from the freezer, so that it can come up to room temp.  It'll be easier to handle that way.  I then either cut off a big chunk and dice it, or I just leave it all whole and use a Microplane to grate the amount I need.  

After I prepare the amount needed for the recipe, I tightly wrap the remaining fresh ginger in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for future use.  You can also put it in a Ziploc baggie, squeeze all of the air out, and put it in the freezer.  

I hope these tips have helped you out in saving some time in any recipe that calls for fresh ginger!

Coffee

Good morning!

I thought I would update with a little posting on how I make my coffee. 

First and foremost, I use dark and medium dark coffee.  I think it tastes better than the light or medium kinds.

You might think I'm crazy, but I add three other things to my ground coffee before I brew it. 

After I measure my amount of ground coffee to the amount of water (1 tbsp ground coffee to every cup of water), I add the following three things (to taste):

Cocoa powder, cayenne and cinnamon.

I like my coffee to have some heat to it, as well as some depth.  Adding these three things helps to round out the flavor of just the plain coffee itself.  Also, with adding these three things, I avoid adding any sugary creamers.  I have come to learn to appreciate plain black coffee, but I like to add plain, nondairy creamer and some raw sugar to it from time to time. 

Raw sugar is better for you than the white sugar because it isn't processed nearly as much as the white sugar. 

Here are some pics below of the stuff I actually use in my coffee:

Punjabi Quesadillas

Good evening, my readers!

Tonight, I made Punjabi quesadillas.  The recipe is by Bal Arneson ("The Spice Goddess), and here is the website for it: (http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/punjabi-quesadillas-recipe/index.html).

This is another recipe that calls for onions, and I left them out.  I have made these quesadillas many times before, and I have always enjoyed them. 

I doubled the recipe tonight, so that we can have lunch and dinner tomorrow.  The yogurt that is added makes the filling really creamy.  All of the spices the recipe calls more brings the whole dish together.  I highly recommend it. 

Lemon Chicken, Garlicky Broccoli and Brown Rice

Hello, my fellow foodies!!!

Tonight, I made lemon chicken, broccoli with lots of garlic and some brown rice.

*Lemon Chicken

The lemon chicken recipe is from Annie's Eats (http://annies-eats.net/2010/04/15/lemon-chicken/), and I will provide my notes on this recipe below:

The recipe calls for fresh thyme leaves and fresh rosemary leaves.  If you read my last blog (Lemon Zucchini Risotto), then you'll remember that I don't really care for fresh herbs.  For this dish, I used dried thyme and rosemary.  I used the same amount of herbs the recipe calls for, even though you should use a less amount of dried due to their more powerful flavor.

I used about 3 1/2 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. 

I am not a big fan of garnishments because I think they are a waste (think chopped parsley as a garnish - waste of money).  With that said, I didn't use the thinly sliced lemons as a garnishment.  That is my opinion, but, obviously, you can feel free to finish the dish as you see fit.  

I baked the chicken in a 9 x 13 cake/brownie pan with amazing results.   

*Garlicky Broccoli

This is my own recipe, and I will give it to you now:

3 + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 bunch of broccoli (about three heads bunched together by that purple rubber band), cut into florets, rinsed and dried

Fine sea salt

Pepper

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic & red pepper flakes.  Stir & saute for about 30 seconds.  When you add these two ingredients, they need to sizzle when they hit the pan.

Add the broccoli and the other two tbsp olive oil on top of the broccoli.  Stir to coat the broccoli with the oil, red pepper flakes and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for about 12-15 minutes, stirring every 2 - 2 1/2 minutes.

Remove the broccoli from the heat and taste a small piece and adjust seasonings, if necessary. 

Serve with your meal!

Brown Rice

I am trying to eat fewer white starches, so I am making the effort to incorporate other grains into my meals (i.e. brown rice, quinoa, barley, couscous, millet, etc.).  The problem with brown rice is that it takes forever to cook, especially if you use a rice cooker.  On the stove top, it takes less time (about 45-50 minutes), so I try to make brown rice when I have another portion of the meal that takes about an hour to cook.

With this meal, the chicken took two hours to marinade and one hour to cook, so I had the chicken and rice cooking at the same time.  I started the broccoli with about 20 minutes left on the chicken and rice.  

Let me know if you try any of these and if you have any comments or questions.

Til tomorrow!

My Favorite Foods & Restaurants

I figured while I was waiting for the lemon chicken to marinate, I would blog about my favorite foods and restaurants.

Favorite Foods:
*Buffalo wings
     *the HOT kind, not mild or medium
*Mozzarella sticks
*Strawberries
*Kiwi
*Pineapple
*Raspberries
*Blackberries
     *I really love fruit.  Is it because I am one?
*The chips and hot sauce at Chipotle
     *the hot sauce at Chipotle has a lot of heat, and I love it!
*Oreo's
     *the reduced-fat kind should be illegal because they are gross.
     *I don't care for the double stuf variety.  I like the cookie part better than the cream filling.
     *I bet you didn't know that Oreo's are actually vegan! 

Favorite Restaurants
*Chipotle
     *Like I mentioned above, the chips and salsa are to die for.  I get the burrito bowl instead 
     of the burrito in a tortilla to save on the carb intake.  
*Noodles & Company
     *The Wisconsin mac & cheese with parmesan chicken is delish!
*Panda Express
     *Orange chicken with the steamed vegetables is a great meal.
*Tea Garden
     *Hands down the BEST Chinese restaurant I have ever been to.  It's located in Olathe off
     127th & Mur-Len.  Go for the buffet or for dinner!
     *Link: http://www.teagardenkc.com/

What are your favorite foods and/or restaurants?

 

Lemon Zucchini Risotto

The finished lemon zucchini risotto

Tonight, I made a lemon zucchini risotto.  The recipe came from The Complete Vegan Kitchen by Jannequin Bennett.  Usually, risottos call for onions or shallots.  I do NOT care for either one; I left it out, and the result was still delish!  I have made many risottos before, and I have never included the onion or shallot in the recipe.  I haven't ever had an issue because of that. 

Something I have learned along the way:  with any recipe that calls for onions, shallots and/or scallions, I leave them out.  For example, when a recipe starts out with heating some oil in a pan and then adding in onions and garlic and sauteing for a few minutes, I don't include the onion.  What I actually do is while the oil is heating, I get the garlic ready.  I also get the next few ingredients ready to toss in because you only need to saute the garlic for about 30 seconds or so.  If you burn the garlic, you need to toss it and start again.  You will need to scrub the pan very well or start with a new, clean pan.  Burnt or bitter garlic is not tasty.  

Back to the recipe!  This particular risotto is vegan, meaning there are no animal products in it at all.  There isn't any cheese or dairy-based butter in this recipe.  

The recipe calls for basil, and it offers measurements for fresh basil and dried basil.  I like to opt for the dried herbs because I find fresh herbs to be annoying as far as how fast they go bad.  

Something I have learned:  dried herbs are easier to use, last longer, and go a longer way.  You use less, but it has the same impact as a greater amount of fresh herbs.  You just have to make sure to rotate the dried herbs once they expire.  

I love lemons, so I added twice the amount of lemon the recipe called for.  The ingredient list had the zest and juice of one lemon.  I added the zest and juice of two lemons, and it was perfect.  It had the right amount of acid and tang.

As far as the wine that risottos need, I use Yellow Tail.  These wines are inexpensive, but they taste great.  The alcohol cooks off in the process, but the flavor that is left is nice.  That is an important aspect of cooking with wine.  If you wouldn't drink it, then you shouldn't cook with it.  

Like with any risotto (that I've made), you have to babysit it and stir it constantly, so that you can develop the starches in the rice.  With that, you get a creamy result that is delish.  

I hope my experience with this dish has given you some ideas and helpful tips for the next time you cook a risotto. 

Another picture of the finished product

Why I Started This Blog

I know you may probably see this kind of post a lot, but I'll try to make this one different.  I have always wanted to create and maintain a blog, and I figured I better start now.  After much deliberation on the topic of my blog, I chose to do it on food.

I am a foodie.  I collect and read cookbooks.  My Saturday and Sunday morning TV lineup is the Food Network and The Cooking Channel.  I can get lost in reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows.  I am not sure when my passion for food started, but it was a long time ago.  

I remember watching my mom cook dinner every night after work and wanting to participate.  She would let me help as much as possible.  From her, I learned many recipes, including spaghetti, lasagna, many chicken recipes and breakfast for dinner. 

This passion for food is so great that I wanted to share my experiences with food in a blog.  I hope that each person that reads my blog learns something they can use in their cooking.  I will share some helpful advice I have learned while working on already published recipes or with recipes I have written myself.  

I will strive to answer all questions and reply to any comments.

Happy reading, and thank you for reading my blog!