Lasagna Roll Ups

This is a very versatile recipe - any favorite veggies can be added/substituted. I added Italian sausage to the dish, but it can be made without meat as well. I didn't have time to make my own sauce when I made this the first time, so I used Ragu sauce (with a 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained, mixed in) and it worked perfectly! If you are into freezer cooking, this recipe could easily be doubled so you can bake one and freeze the other for a meal later in the month.

Ingredients:

10-12 lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat noodles for more nutrition)

2 tsp canola oil or olive oil

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 small bell pepper, diced

1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

4 cups marinara sauce - recipe below (or store bought marinara/spaghetti sauce can be used)

1 (15 oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 egg, beaten lightly

1 tsp salt

black pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2/3 - 1 cup of park-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles al dente according to the package directions. Drain them and spread on foil or waxed paper to prevent sticking. (I lightly sprayed foil with cooking spray to make sure they didn't stick.)

Heat oil in a large saute pan; add chopped veggies and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). In a separate pan, cook the italian sausage and drain excess grease.

**If you like chunky veggies and meat in your lasagna, then this next step is not necessary, but I have some of my family members don't like chunks of meat/veggies so I mince them. It also works well to "hide" the veggies if you're trying to sneak in the vitamins. :) I added the drained meat and veggies to the food processor and pulsed to finely chop the ingredients. Add about 1 cup of marinara sauce to the mixture to smooth it out. If you like larger pieces of meat and vegetables, then simply stir together the veggies, meat and 1 cup of sauce.

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.

Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish.

To assemble the rolls, spread about 2 tbsp of the ricotta cheese and spinach mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 2-3 tbsp of the meat/veggie mixture. Roll the noodle and place in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles. Spread the remaining sauce over the roll ups. Sprinkle the shredded cheeses over the top.

Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 15 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned.

Variations: Spinach and mushroom rollups, Eggplant and zucchini roll ups

Marinara Sauce

1 tbsp canola oil or olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1 bay leaf

Salt/pepper to taste

In a pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add minced garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Oatmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup raisins
• 
  

  Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Roasted Grape Tomato Panini

*This recipe was on the Rachel Ray show this week. It looked so tasty that we just had to try it.

Grape tomatoes, Roasted and crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
Crushed red pepper
Fresh basil leaves
Mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni slices
Bread slices (I made this with bread from my bread maker...yumm!)

To roast the grape tomatoes in the oven: Set oven to 400 degrees; sprinkle a little olive oil or canola oil over the tomatoes and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tomato skins split open. Remove from pan and crush the tomatoes - I used a potato masher, but you could pulse it in a food processor. After the tomatoes are crushed, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper to the tomatoes and mix well.


Heat panini maker. Spread some of the tomato mixture on 2 slices of bread; tear 2 or 3 fresh basil leaves into pieces and place over the tomato mix; sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over one of the slices; top with pepperonis and a little more cheese. Cover with the second slice of bread. Place in panini maker and cook until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Alternatives: replace pepperoni with mini meatballs for a meatball sandwich taste.

Chris's Yummy Paninis

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but it is my son, Chris's.

Cooked, diced or shredded chicken breast
Finely chopped onion
Finely chopped bell pepper
Mozzarella cheese, shredded (any flavor will do if you prefer another)
Sour dough bread (I like to use the bakery style from the grocery store)
Pesto dressing

Pesto dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use canola mayo)
2 Tbs prepared Pesto (ironically the kind I buy is called Chris's!!)

Heat panini maker. Spread a thin coat of the pesto dressing on two slices of bread. On the first slice; add shredded mozzarella cheese (small handful); then sprinkle onions and bell pepper over the cheese; top with diced chicken and a little more mozzarella cheese. Cover with the remaining slice. Grill until bread is golden brown and cheese has melted.

Alternatives:

Ham and cheese - add spicy brown mustard to the pesto sauce
Veggie - mushrooms, onions, peppers
Pizza - add pizza sauce and cooked mini meatballs instead of the pesto and chicken

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla.

In a bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Slowly add to the butter mixture and mix until blended well. Add chocolate chips.

Drop spoonfuls of dough on to greased pan. Bake 10-13 minutes or until light brown. Remove cookies from the pan and cool on a rack.

Flour Tortillas

4 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder (optional)
1/3 cup shortening or lard
1 to 1 1/4 cups water
waxed paper

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and baking powder (makes lighter tortilla). Cut in the shortening or lard with a fork. When the flour is crumbly, add the water. Stir the dough until it makes a ball of dough. Add an extra spoonful of water if the dough is too dry.

When the dough forms a ball, knead it about 20 times. (This can be done by hand or with an electric mixer that has a kneading hook.) Let it rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. After it has rested, form the dough into 10-12 balls equal in size. Roll each dough ball in flour to coat the outside of it evenly. Place the ball on a sheet of waxed paper or a clean, well-floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 6-7" circle, rolling as thin as possible. Placed the tortilla in a hot dry skillet. Cook for 30 seconds until the bottom side is dry with some light brown spots. Flip and cook until the other side is the same.

Note: I have tortilla press that makes quick work of flattening the tortillas and I cook them on my electric griddle.

Cranberry Apple Pie

Pie
1 refrigerated or frozen pie pastry
2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 cups fresh cranberries (thawed if frozen)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp flour

Crumb topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp cold butter, cut into 1/4" pieces

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9 inch pie pan with the crust and flute the edges. (A frozen pre-made/in the pan crust works well too. Defrost before using.)

Thinly slice the apples and combine them in a large bowl with the cranberries. Add the sugar, lemon juice and flour, mixing well. Transfer the filling to the pie shell, smoothing the top of the fruit. Bake for 30 minutes.

While the pie is baking, in a large bowl mix the topping ingredients together. Blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

After 30 minutes, remove the pie from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Spread the topping over the pie and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the fruit thickens and bubbles around the edges.

Allow to cool for 2 hours before serving.