Monday, March 18, 2013
Simple Supper Tuesday 3/18/13 (Blog Hop)!
Check out Hun... What's for Dinner? Cindy's doing her Super Simple Tuesday blog hop, and there are some really great recipes for quick weeknight recipes. My "to try" file is growing bigger with each link that's added! :-)
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Lasagna Sandwiches **
We really liked these. The kids and hubby loved them. I liked the idea, but I don't know if I'd make them again. They're a lot of trouble for something that didn't blow me away. If I did make them again, I'd skip the ricotta mixture and just put the mozzarella directly on the meat. It didn't really add anything to it, in my opinion. I loved the garlic bread as the sandwich bread, though. That's a pretty nifty idea! I served it with Garlicky Mushrooms Supreme.
LASAGNA SANDWICHES
(Cassie Craves)
6 sub rolls or bolillo rolls
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 to 1 cup jarred marinara
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice off the tops of the sub rolls. Then scoop out the bread from the inside. Stir together butter, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Spread each side of each sliced roll with butter mixture. Broil until browned and crispy.
3. Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. About halfway through cooking, add onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When beef is cooked through, add garlic and cook and stir 30 seconds. Stir in diced tomatoes and as much marinara sauce as you need to moisten the mixture (don’t make it too wet).
4. Spoon some of the ground beef mixture into each roll.
5. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon over the meat mixture in each roll.
6. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese over top of each roll. Top with the bread top. Wrap each sandwich in foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Photo from Cassie Craves
LASAGNA SANDWICHES
(Cassie Craves)
6 sub rolls or bolillo rolls
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 to 1 cup jarred marinara
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice off the tops of the sub rolls. Then scoop out the bread from the inside. Stir together butter, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Spread each side of each sliced roll with butter mixture. Broil until browned and crispy.
3. Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. About halfway through cooking, add onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When beef is cooked through, add garlic and cook and stir 30 seconds. Stir in diced tomatoes and as much marinara sauce as you need to moisten the mixture (don’t make it too wet).
4. Spoon some of the ground beef mixture into each roll.
5. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon over the meat mixture in each roll.
6. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese over top of each roll. Top with the bread top. Wrap each sandwich in foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Garlicky Mushrooms Supreme ***
Yummy, yummy, yummy! Monkey 2 has a fascination with mushrooms right now (he gets that from his mama!), so I knew I wanted to give another mushroom recipe a shot. I doubled the mushrooms and just left the rest of the recipe the same. Although, I did use dried minced garlic and dried parsley. Even Monkey 1 loved it, and he's not usually all that keen on mushrooms. Same goes for hubby, and he was just as impressed as the rest of us. It's nothing at all fancy, but I love that about it. It lets the natural flavor of the mushrooms shine through. The only change I would make is to double the garlic next time as well. It didn't quite come out as strongly as I would have liked. I served them with Lasagna Sandwiches.
GARLICKY MUSHROOMS SUPREME
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Food.com)
1 lb mushroom, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
7 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
Saute mushrooms in olive oil, covered about 15 minutes.
Uncover; add garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.
Simmer until liquid evaporates.
Don't let the garlic brown.
Photo from Food.com
GARLICKY MUSHROOMS SUPREME
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Food.com)
1 lb mushroom, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
7 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
Saute mushrooms in olive oil, covered about 15 minutes.
Uncover; add garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.
Simmer until liquid evaporates.
Don't let the garlic brown.
Monday, March 4, 2013
"Food Storage" Granola Bars (No-Bake) **
I'm slowly starting to remove some of the processed food in our meals. I will never be able to get us 100% clean-eating, since hubby and I both work full-time and go to school as well, but I am making the start to try to move us that way a little at a time. Of course, these still use Rice Crispies, but oh well. At least I know most of the ingredients that go into the bars. As for the bars themselves, the taste is phenomenal. We all loved them. I just couldn't get them to stick into bars, though. No matter how thick I made them, they fell apart. I am going to look into some other recipes online and see what the differences are. If nothing else, maybe I can just cut back the oats a little bit. I love the idea of a healthier version of granola bars to keep around, though. I definitely don't want to give up on the idea.
"FOOD STORAGE" GRANOLA BARS (NO-BAKE)
(Pennies & Pancakes via Pinterest)
*Makes 28 bars
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter (crunchy)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 cups Quick Oats (not rolled oats)
2 cups crispy rice cereal
3 teaspoons vanilla
In a large bowl, stir crispy rice cereal, quick oats together.
In a medium saucepan, combine honey, butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then bring the temperature down to low, and simmer till sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Pour in vanilla and stir.
Pour the hot mixture over dry ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are moistened. Press into a parchment-lined jelly roll pan.
Pack the granola bar mixture as closely and as tightly together as you possibly can into one end of the pan at about 1/2-3/4 inch thickness.Any thinner, and the bars will not hold together. Let cool on the counter till they reach room temperature.
Cut into bars (I did 4 X 7). Wrap in plastic or store in a ziplock bag.
*OP's Notes: You may add chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, coconut, etc. if desired. If adding chocolate chip, press them into the top of the bars after you've packed the very warm granola mixture into the pan. Otherwise, you'll end up with a melted chocolate-swirled mess. My family loves this recipe as is, but if you find they don't hold their form as well as you'd like, you can store them in the refrigerator.
Photo from Pennies & Pancakes
"FOOD STORAGE" GRANOLA BARS (NO-BAKE)
(Pennies & Pancakes via Pinterest)
*Makes 28 bars
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter (crunchy)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 cups Quick Oats (not rolled oats)
2 cups crispy rice cereal
3 teaspoons vanilla
In a large bowl, stir crispy rice cereal, quick oats together.
In a medium saucepan, combine honey, butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then bring the temperature down to low, and simmer till sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Pour in vanilla and stir.
Pour the hot mixture over dry ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are moistened. Press into a parchment-lined jelly roll pan.
Pack the granola bar mixture as closely and as tightly together as you possibly can into one end of the pan at about 1/2-3/4 inch thickness.Any thinner, and the bars will not hold together. Let cool on the counter till they reach room temperature.
Cut into bars (I did 4 X 7). Wrap in plastic or store in a ziplock bag.
*OP's Notes: You may add chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, coconut, etc. if desired. If adding chocolate chip, press them into the top of the bars after you've packed the very warm granola mixture into the pan. Otherwise, you'll end up with a melted chocolate-swirled mess. My family loves this recipe as is, but if you find they don't hold their form as well as you'd like, you can store them in the refrigerator.
Simple Supper Tuesday 3/4/13 (Blog Hop)!
Check out Hun... What's for Dinner? Cindy's doing her Super Simple Tuesday blog hop, and there are some really great recipes for quick weeknight recipes. My "to try" file is growing bigger with each link that's added! :-)
Hummus Melts ***
I found this recipe on Pinterest and have been dying to try it. I'm such a spinach-holic. I didn't have the stuff to make the included hummus recipe, so I just used the plain store-bought version. I also didn't have any mozzarella, so I had to sub a colby-jack blend. It would have been better with the mozzarella, but I really loved it. So simple, and it really fills you up. The hummus and the spinach go really well together too. Definitely a keeper for an easy, quick, and healthy lunch!
HUMMUS MELTS
(Neverhomemaker.com via Pinterest)
4 whole wheat English muffins
Basic hummus (I used store-bought)
3-4 handfuls baby spinach
Olive oil
Garlic
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1. Toast four whole wheat English muffins
2. Then make the basic hummus recipe (skip this step if using store-bought hummus).
3. Saute a little baby spinach in some olive oil and garlic. Three to four handfuls of spinach will do. Just remember, it'll cook down dramatically.
4. Turn on your broiler . . . and on a cookie sheet, lay out each English muffin and top with hummus. 5. Top each muffin with spinach and then a heap of shredded mozzarella.
6. Broil until brown and bubbly.
(This recipe makes enough for four open-faced sandwiches -- serves two hungry people).
Photo via Neverhomemaker.com
(Neverhomemaker.com via Pinterest)
4 whole wheat English muffins
Basic hummus (I used store-bought)
3-4 handfuls baby spinach
Olive oil
Garlic
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1. Toast four whole wheat English muffins
2. Then make the basic hummus recipe (skip this step if using store-bought hummus).
3. Saute a little baby spinach in some olive oil and garlic. Three to four handfuls of spinach will do. Just remember, it'll cook down dramatically.
4. Turn on your broiler . . . and on a cookie sheet, lay out each English muffin and top with hummus. 5. Top each muffin with spinach and then a heap of shredded mozzarella.
6. Broil until brown and bubbly.
(This recipe makes enough for four open-faced sandwiches -- serves two hungry people).