Monday, April 28, 2008

Tomato Pesto Panini

Texas Toast
Pesto (already prepared, or make it yourself)
Tomatoes
Mozarella cheese
Butter

Spread butter on the outside of two peices of Texas Toast. Spred pesto on the inside of the Texas toast. Top with tomato and mozarella, put bread together to make a sandwhich. to make the panini, I used a small George Foreman Grill, but you could could use your outside grill and just put something heavy on top of the sandwhiches.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Spinach Poppy Seed Salad

1 Bag baby spinach leaves
Feta cheese
Craisins
Mandarin oranges
slivered almonds
Poppy Seed dressing (I like Brianna's poppy seed dressing)
Combine and enjoy!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Greek Tofu Salad

1 bag (or one head) of Just the Leaves, Romaine lettuce
1 pkg. extra firm tofu
1 can olives (I like to use ones that are flavored like parmesan, or italian)
8 oz. rotini noodles, cooked and drained
feta cheese
Greek salad dressing

Cut tofu into small cubes and pan sear in peanut oil. Season with Mrs. Dash or any other seasoning you like. If you're not into tofu, you can substitute with chicken. Let the tofu cool and combine all items in a large bowl and toss with dressing.

Lasagna Rolls

12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Ricotta cheese
3 cups chopped spinach
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 ounce) jar marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse, return to the pot and cover with cold water until ready to use.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until the spinach wilts and the mixture is heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in Ricotta, Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozarella, crushed red pepper, salt and 2/3 cup marinara sauce.
3. Wipe out the pan and spread 1 cup of the remaining marinara sauce in the bottom. To make lasagna rolls, place a noodle on a work surface and spread 1/4 cup of the filling along it. Roll up and place the roll, seam-side down, in the pan. Repeat with the remaining noodles and filling. (The rolls will be tightly packed in the pan.) Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the rolls. Place the pan over high heat, cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium; let simmer for 3 minutes. Sprinkle the rolls with mozzarella and cook, covered, until the cheese is melted and the rolls are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Monday, April 21, 2008

White Pesto Pizza

Pre made pizza dough from store
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cup mozerella cheese
2 Tbs milk
prepared pesto
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 tomato

Mix ricotta, parmesan, milk, and 1/4 cup mozerella to make the while sauce. If it is too thick, add more milk, if to thin, add more of the cheeses. Spread over pizza dough. Spread layer of pesto. Sprinkle with remaining mozerella cheese. Top with pine nuts and tomatoes. Cook according to to pizza dough instructions.

Vodka Cream Pasta

So this recipe may be hard to make if you live in Utah and can't drive basically to any store and get a bottle of Vodka! (don't worry, the alcohol cooks out!)

16 oz penne pasta cooked according to pkg directions
1 tbs olive olive
1 tbs butter
3 cloves garlic-minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup vegetable stock, or chicken stock
32 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
basil-dry or fresh

Saute garlic in olive oil and butter. Add vodka and cook 3-5 min to reduce alcohol. Add vegetable stock and tomatoes, bring to a boil and lett simmer while pasta cooks. Season with salt, pepper, and basil. Remove from heat and add cream. Return to a boil then add cooked pasta. Let stand for 5 min for sauce to thicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
*For those of you who are worried about what to do with the extra vodka, you can put it in your freezer and use it the next few times you make this recipe :)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Baked Pesto Ziti






8 oz. ziti pasta
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups mozerella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup prepared pesto
2 cups crushed tomatos
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbs. olive oil

Cook ziti for 7 min. then rinse with cold water.
Saute garlic and onion in olive oil and add crushed tomatos. Simmer 10 min.
In a medium size bowl combine:
ricotta, 1 cup mozerella, parmesan, and pesto. Mix well

In a 8x9 pan layer: 1/2 of tomato sauce, half of ziti noodles, all of cheese mixture, the remaining half of ziti, the remaining tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup mozerella. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Spicy Mac and Cheese (Melissa Vogt)

8 0z elbow pasta
1 1/2 cups milk
4 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like things spicy!)
1 cup cooked broccoli florets
3 pieces of bread torn into bite size pieces.

Cook pasta according to pkg. directions and steam broccoli until tender and set aside.
Cheese sauce:
Melt butter in a medium sauce pan and add in flour. Stir until smooth. Add milk and stir constantly on medium heat until thickened. Add 2 cups of cheddar cheese and the parmesan cheese. Stir until smooth. Add salt and cayenne pepper. If sauce is too thick, add 1/2 cup more milk. If sauce seems to thin, add more cheese.

Combine pasta, broccoli, and cheese sauce in a 8x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 min. Remove from oven and top with bite size bread pieces and the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Continue to bake for another 10-15 min.

Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup

2 cups chopped carrots
1 small onion finely diced
2 cups broccoli florets
4 cups potatoes peeled and cubed
1 cup chopped celery

Boil all veggies but broccoli in 3 cups water for 10 min. Add the broccoli and boil for 10 more minutes. DO NOT DRAIN!

Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
3 Tbs. flour
2 cups milk
1 lb. velveeta cheese, cubed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
season with salt and pepper

In saucepan, melt margarine. Stir in flour. Add milk and cook on medium heat stirring constantly until thick. Add cheese and other ingredients. Stir until smooth. Add to undrained veggies and heat together, but do not boil.

Welcome!

Hi everyone, so this is how it works......I will be putting on several of my own recipes and if any of you have a recipe to share, please either leave it in a comment and I will copy and paste it as a post, or email it to me at leeshajones@gmail.com and I will copy and paste it into a post. Thanks everyone!