I can’t take too much credit for this one, its really the creation of a friend.  We decided to make lasagna tonight, he decided to show us what was up.  This one is really something special.

ingredients:

marinara sauce

1 green bell pepper, diced
1/3 C celery, diced
1/3 C carrot, diced
1/2 C white onion
4 cloves garlic
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 T tomato paste
1 C vegetable stock

filler

1 zucchini, diced
8 ounces portabella mushrooms, rough chopped
2 1/2 C eggplant diced

bechamel sauce

3/4 C shredded parmasean
4 C milk
4 T flour
4 T butter
1/2 C ricotta

other

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into strips
1 lb lasagna noodles

method:

Start by building the marinara sauce, that way it has plenty of time to come together.  Add the carrots, onion, and celery to a skillet along with 2 T olive oil.  Saute the mix on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, then put it into a food processor.  Start the processor and slowly add the stock.  Keep going until its fully pureed.  Pour into a sauce pan and add any remaining stock along with the tomato sauce, the tomato paste, and the bell pepper.  Place over medium-low heat and cover.

Next, we’ll build the filler.  Add the zucchini, mushrooms, and eggplant to a skillet along with 2 T olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Cook until the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture and the zucchini starts to become tender.  Feel free to add some fresh herbs to this step.  Rosemary, basil, and celery seed are all good choices.  That’s pretty much it on the filler.

Fill a large pot with water and place over high heat.  Once the water boils, turn the heat off and place the lasagna noodles into the water.  Once they are soaking, start building the final element to our lasagna, the bechamel sauce.  Put the milk into a saucepan and put on a burner over medium-low heat.  Once it begins to get warm, add the butter.  When the butter is all melted in, add the flour and stir well for at least a minute.

Ok, time to build.  Put a thin layer of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 lasagna pan.  Next is a layer of lasagna noodles (remember which way you orient them), followed by a thin layer of the filler.  Pour half the bechamel in next, then put on another layer of lasagna noodles (make sure they are opposite orientation of the first layer), then another layer of marinara sauce.  Next, another layer of filler, then another of noodles.  For the top, pour on the rest of the bechamel, any remaining filler, and any remaining marinara sauce.  Finish your new creation off by placing all the cheese on it.

Cover with foil, bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes.  For an optional finihsing touch, broil for 4-5 minutes at the very end of the baking cycle.  This last step will slightly crunchify the edges of the cheese and add a lot of flavor and texture.

enjoy :)
-E

Long day?  Want something refreshing yet filling?  Yeah, I thought so.  This is one of my favorite recipes for just such a moment.  Its fast, easy, and pretty good.  It fills you up, but doesn’t leave you feeling bloated and heavy.  So go wash your hands, we’re getting ready to cook.

ingredients (per person):
Capellini pasta
1 lemon
2 roma tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 T butter
2 T olive oil
salt
pepper

Start by boiling the pasta.  While that’s going, place a skillet over low heat and add the butter and olive oil.  Next, give the tomatoes a rough chop and mince the garlic.  Cut each lemon in half then cut each half into paper thin rounds.  You can either leave the rind on or take it off.  I prefer to leave it on and just not eat the lemon.  There’s plenty of flavor from the lemon in the dish, and I don’t find eating the fruit necessary.  However, if you want to eat it, then peel the lemon before you slice it.  Try to save the peel though and add it to the skillet while cooking.  Just remember not to eat it.

Once the pasta is ready, strain it, rinse it and toss it into the warm skillet and raise the heat to medium-high.  Stir it around a bit to get the oil mixed in and add the lemon,  garlic, tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Cook for 3-4 minutes tossing nearly constantly.  Once its all nice and hot and mixed thoroughly, plate it then top with a few turns of fresh cracked pepper and some fresh basil.  As I said before, this is a filling dish, but fear not.  Put the leftovers in some tupperware and take it to work tomorrow, its good cold too.

Enjoy,
-E

Tags: easy, lemon, Pasta, tomatoes, Vegetarian

Toonz claimed that he made a ” sooooooo freaking good” Lasagna Soup, so of course I had to try it. One problem. Toonz insisted it was supposed to have “bulk Italian sausage” in it. That just isn’t something currently in my diet. (I know, I know. You’re probably thinking that I’m missing out.) I couldn’t go another day without tryin’ the soup, so I thought really hard – nearly bursting a brain vessel, and vegetarianized it. No, I don’t think that’s a word.

Jen’s Lasagna Soup
1 T Jen’s Italian Seasoning
1 T Fennel Seeds
1 T olive oil
1 – 1.5 pounds of veggie crumbles
2 cups onion, chopped
2 cups carrots, sliced
2 Tb minced garlic
4 cups vegetable broth (or 2 / 15 ounce cans)
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-stewed tomatoes, whole
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 cups uncooked curly pasta (I used gemelli)
2 cups fresh spinach
shredded mozzarella, opt.
shredded Parmesan, opt.
dried basil & red pepper for garnish

1] Grind fennel seeds and Italian seasoning in a coffee grinder until the fennel seeds are in smaller chunks. Pour olive oil into a large stockpot on low heat and add Italian seasoning and fennel mix. Stir the mixture until the seasoning is completely coated by the olive oil. Add veggie crumbles and stir until olive oil + seasoning covers the crumbles. (At this point I prepped the rest of my ingredients.)

2] Add onions, carrots, and garlic to the pot. Saute for around four minutes.

3] Pour in vegetable broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Once boiling, add in your curly pasta. I let it boil for about three minutes and then brought the heat down to medium-low and let it cook for an additional 10 – 13 minutes.

4] Add spinach, and stir until it wilts. Put some mozzarella in the bottom of a bowl, add the soup, and top with Parmesan. If in season, top with fresh basil strips and red pepper to taste. If not in season, dried basil works fine.

This was one of thoe unplanned happy accidents. It was late, I was hungry, so I went digging through the kitchen to see what I could find. Grabbed some spaghetti, a 6 ounce can of tomato paste, and a frozen chicken breast and I set about combining them. I started by putting the tomato paste into a sauce pan along with an equal amount of water. Tossed in some black pepper, minced garlic, and dried basil then let the whole thing reduce to about a third of its original volume. The chicken went from the freezer straight on to the foreman grill. When it was about 3/4 cooked, I took a bit of thyme and some rosemary and added a bit of olive oil to make a loose paste and smeared it on top of the chicken, then placed it back on the foreman grill to finish cooking. The spaghetti was simply boiled then strained. To serve, make a nice bed of noodles in the middle of the plate, pour some of the sauce on top, then place the chicken on top of that. Just like that, you have yourself a simple dinner for one with no pre-planning required.

Enjoy,
-E