Takes the Cake - Ziti Bake!!!

Still on my "Hungry Girl" kick for recipes - and found another one that totally delivers on taste and feeling full!  Found it on her website, and it's also in her "300 under 300" cookbook - page 230.  Believe it or not, the only changes I made were to do the mushrooms on the side (for Miss Picky) and next time I make it, I will saute the spinach in its own pan - the garlic and onion were soft and I felt like I was over cooking them when I added in the spinach. 

Other than that, even though it only calls for 5 oz of pasta, that's all we needed to make the full recipe in an 8 x 8 square baking pan.  And it's even vegetarian, Michele!  I guess not vegan b/c of the cheese, but I'm sure there are cheese substitutes available.  Paired it with some steamed broccoli and served the mushrooms on the side (piled them on my serving!) and it was a hit!  Bon appetit!  I have her pulled pork recipe simmering in the slow cooker while we speak - update later today or tomorrow!

Takes The Cake - Ziti Bake

Ingredients:

5 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) uncooked whole-wheat or high-fiber ziti or penne pasta
1 cup thinly sliced onion
2 cups chopped brown mushrooms
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 cups fresh spinach
3/4 cup low-fat/light ricotta cheese
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 tbsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain well, place in a large bowl, and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring an extra-large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add onion and, stirring occasionally, cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic, and raise temperature to medium high. Continue to cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are soft, about 3 minutes.

Add spinach to the skillet and, stirring often, cook until spinach has wilted and excess moisture has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in ricotta cheese and basil.

Transfer contents of the skillet to the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add tomatoes and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Toss gently to mix.

Spray an 8" X 8" baking pan with nonstick spray, and carefully fill with contents of the bowl. Evenly top with Parm-style topping and remaining 2 tbsp. mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the oven until entire dish is hot and cheese on top has melted, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, and then serve and enjoy!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Chicken Parmesan with Julia and Her Friends

There is nothing more refreshing than hearing the giggles of teenage girls doing their homework at our kitchen table.  And even cuter when part of the reason they are here is because (in addition to the homework part), they want to try my chicken parmesan.  My recipe is one that I have created based on several different ones I have tried over the years.  It is easy and healthy and downright delicious if I do say so myself. 

Chicken Parmesan

8 thin sliced chicken cutlets

Spaghetti sauce of your choice (I prefer the tomato and basil Publix brand)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Italian style breadcrumbs

Dipping sauce herbs
2 eggs

GOOD shredded parmesan cheese

Fresh basil

Olive Oil

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.  With a large deep skillet, heat a swirl of olive oil on medium high heat.  Dip each chicken piece in beaten egg, then breadcrumbs that are mixed with dipping sauce herbs of your choice.  If you are not familiar with them, Publix sells them in the bakery section (wierd place I know - like why aren't they in the spice area?) and it is a small jar with 4 compartments like rosemary garlic, tomato basil...whatever spices you can find. 

Sautee the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side.  You can do 4 at a time, and when those are done, put into a baking dish and swirl a touch more olive oil in and do the next 4.  When all are done, top with spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and basil.  Cook in the pre-heated oven for 10-20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

In the meantime, I made the pasta (again using the refrigerated kind because it is just SO much lighter tastewise.)  I also made some green beans (frozen that you boil - as close as you can get to fresh but cheaper and easier), salad, and Italian bread for dipping.  Oh and some fresh tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar and basil.

I feel very lucky to feel that at least for now, Julia's friends actually LIKE to hang out with us.  They are all super sweet girls and having 6 at the table is twice as fun as having 3.  I just love that food is what brings people together for fellowship and laughter.  And even though the pasta isn't homemade, I think things are different in this day and age when a working woman is not only putting in 40+ hours a week, but also trying to do things like exercise, read etc. 

LOVING the new Fitness Pal app that my niece introduced me to!  It helps track all my food, water, and exercise on my phone with goals in place.  So not only can I keep my food blog, but I can continue to focus on making healthy meals and making the progress I can with exercise, water etc. 



Last Night's Super Yummy Dinner

So...our friendly cooking "competition" really inspired me. 

Paul knows some of the fancy terms, like mirepoix, so when he mentioned it on Saturday night, I remembered that it was what Melissa D'Arabian used when starting off her ribs recipe.  So I decided to make an attempt at a homemade spaghetti sauce recipe, starting with a "mirepoix", which is simply a mix of chopped celery, carrots and onion, sauteed in a touch of olive oil (and/or butter - I did use a bit of both). 

Once the vegetables started to soften, I added in some tomato paste (almost a whole small can), as well as some garlic and fresh basil.  Then I added in a can of diced tomatoes (the kind with basil and oregano flavoring), undrained, as well as a bit of chicken stock.  A healthy dash of red wine and I let it simmer to bring all of the flavors together.  Last but not least, I chopped some spinach into it since I knew the spinach would cook down, and to get rid of some of the leftover spinach I had.

Speaking of leftover spinach, I made a very tasty (and simple) spinach salad to go with it.  Started off by destemming the spinach and placing in a bowl.  Then I hardboiled 2 eggs and crumbled them, as well as using the last of the chopped pecan as a garnish.  Some mandarin oranges completed it, with the exception of a dressing.  I LOVE a hot bacon dressing and decided I could probably figure out how to do this.  I started with some raspberry pecan preserves, olive oil and chopped pecans and used the food processor to blend.  After some internet research, I added in bacon bits (I used artificial), dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and some sugar.  The end result - delish!!!  The perfect complement to a spinach salad.

Next was my chicken.  Lots of leftover chicken from Saturday night, so I sliced it into small, thin pieces.  Put it in an egg wash, then dipped it into a mixture of flour with some dipping sauce and sauteed it all up.  Had it warming in the oven while I finished things up.

Now for the fettucine.  I do love homemade pasta, but obviously that is a bit time consuming, so I used the Bertollini (I think that's the brand) refrigerated fettucine.  It is SO much lighter than boxed pasta - a bit more expensive and I have not come across a whole grain option yet, but it was light and tasty.

And last but not least, a bruschetta with the bread that I never used Saturday night.  I warmed it, topped it with a light spread of garlic, then on some pieces I added fresh diced tomatoes.  But since most of our family are non-tomato lovers, I left them off on most.  A sprinkling of parmesan cheese, and we have a simple but tasty bread dish.

Since it looks like our refrigerator will now not be fixed until THURSDAY, I have to keep being creative in using up leftovers and using what we have.  Thankfully that only means figuring out meals for tonight and tomorrow night since Wednesday night is trivia, but it has been SO frustrating.  Tonight is definitely a leftover night, and I think I will defrost some chicken for tomorrow and continue to use what we have on hand, hoping my creative juices will flow!