Spinach-Black Bean Lasagna

Ok, this was kind of a weird dish, but I really liked it. Hubby said it was "OK," which is kind of high praise for him for vegetarian stuff.  There are a few mistakes in the recipe, so I'll tell you about those.

This is a recipe from Myrecipes.com, called Spinach-Black Bean Lasagna.  First of all, a big jar of pasta sauce is about 1 lb 13 oz., not 2 lbs. 13 oz. I do think the pasta was a little dry, so a small can of tomato sauce might be good to add.

Secondly, the instructions are a little bit off. In the paragraph about the layers, the last layer says "bean mixture" twice. I just did a third layer just like the first two, and ended with the spinach layer.  It might be better to end with the bean layer, but it didn't seem to make much difference. One of those "bean mixtures" should be "spinach mixture."

I think the pepper-jack cheese is critical. The finished product isn't too spicy, but it has a little zing. You should give this one a try. I hope you like it.

Cream of Mushroom Potato Soup

Another recipe invention.  Really not feeling well, and wanted some cream soup. I had this entire package of mushrooms that I need to use, or they were going to spoil.  I thought I'd make cream of mushroom soup, but I decided to make it a bit more hearty and add potatoes.  Also had some swiss cheese for a while, so I thought that would be a nice addition.  Here's what I did:

Cube two large potatoes (or three smaller ones) and boil them until tender (about 10 minutes.)

Chop up 16 oz of mushrooms and saute in 3 Tbsp of butter, along with 1/2 onion chopped very fine.  After the onion and mushrooms are tender, add 2 cloves of garlic finely minced, and saute for another minute.

In a separate soup pan make a white sauce:

Melt 3 Tbsp butter, add 3Tbsp. flour and cook for a minute.
Add 6 cups of skim milk, salt and pepper, and cook until bubbly.

Add 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 cup of shredded swiss cheese. I added about a cup of vegetable stock, to make it a little thinner.

When all is melted and thickened, stir in the potatoes and mushroom/onion mixture.  Add 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.

This one was a big hit!  Hope you enjoy it.

Black Bean Soup

Made a delicious black bean soup last night so I thought I'd share it with you. Here's the changes I made to the recipe:

I didn't use 10 slices of bacon. I started out with a couple tablespooons of oil in the pan.

I used vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth, and I used about a cup more than called for.

I used a can of fire-roasted tomatoes. I really like these and use them a lot.
I added a 4-oz can of chopped green chilis and about two tablespoons of sugar.
I also added about a tablespoon of real bacon pieces (used in salad) and about a tsp. of liquid smoke.
I didn't use the cilantro. I like cilantro, but didn't have any.  And, I don't think I'd use the whole bunch like the recipe says! That seems like a lot.
I forgot the lime juice. I don't think it made much difference.
I used the cheddar cheese for garnish, but not the sour cream or onions.

This was a great alternative to regular chili, and you should try it!

Four Cheese Baked Penne

I tried a new pasta recipe tonight, and it was a success.  Creamy and delicious, and low fat too!  Here's the recipe from Food Network. The only thing I did differently was use rotini instead of penne, and I didn't put in the rosemary, because it's not one of my favorite spices.

New Year's Eve Recipes

We always have a few friends and family over for New Year's Eve, and I like to make a selection of appetizers.  Here's some of the recipes I used this year:

Monster Mash, a Paula Deen recipe from Food Network:

Shore is Good Seafood Dip, also from Paula Deen:

A recipe from an appetizer cookbook for Roasted Red Pepper Dip:

This one is so easy, and tasty! You just stir together 16 oz. of sour cream, one envelope of onion soup mix, and a jar of roasted red peppers, chopped.









Roasted Garlic Hummus, also from the cookbook:

For this one you have to roast an entire head of garlic in the oven. Here's how. Then mix:

2 Tbsp. roasted garlic
1 can chick-peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1/4 c. fresh parsley
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp curry powder
a few drops of sesame oil
dash hot pepper sauce

I mixed this in a food processor, and drizzled in some olive oil, until it was the creamy consistency I wanted.

I also made an Easy Italian No-Bake Snack Mix, that I didn't take a picture of.

Mix 3 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning in a large zipper bag.  Add:

4 cups small pretzels
1 can (12 oz.) cocktail peanuts
7 oz. cheese crackers (cheeze-its)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated.

Throw it all in the bag and mix it up.

Hope you can try some of these recipes.  I was really happy with all of them!

Potato Soup

Working on a lower fat version of potato soup, and combining a few recipes and making some swaps, here's what I came up with, and we thought it was pretty good.

2 cups diced potatoes, with some of the peel, boiled until tender
1/4 cup butter (I used the "blend" of butter and olive oil)
2 cups finely diced yellow onions
1/2 cup flour
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup instant potato flakes
3 cups skim milk
1 cup low fat sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp tobasco
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt, pepper to taste

Saute the onions in the butter for about 10 minutes or longer until very tender. Mix in the flour, and cook for another few minutes, stirring until the four is absorbed.  Heat up the stock and stir in the potato flakes.  Add this mixture slowly to the onions.  Add milk, sour cream, cheeses and seasonings and cook until bubbly and thickened.  Add in the potatoes right before serving.

Enjoy!

Apricot Bread Mix in a Jar - Gift!

I made these apricot bread mixes for some associates at work.  They are easy, and a nice present, I think!

Muffaletta Salad

I made this Muffaletta Salad for our "pot luck" today at work.  It tasted really good, except I don't think I would use the food processor the next time.  My food processor just smushed everything up, even though I didn't run it very long.  I think just chopping the veggies -- maybe processing the first 7 ingredients for the dressing -- would be better.  I didn't use the Bibb lettuce cups, but otherwise, I followed the recipe.  Yummy.

The picture's not mine, it's from the web site.

Pumpkin Pie Crunch

Made this today for a family birthday party tonight.  I smells good; I hope it tastes as good.  The store was out of pumpkin, so I used pumpkin pie filling, and left out the sugar and pumpkin pie spice.  Hope it turns out OK.  It looks pretty in the pan.  I'm not a big fan of plain old pumpkin pie, but I like the flavor of pumpkin, so this should be good. Here's  link to the recipe.

Pasta House Pasta con Broccoli

I made this pasta dish tonight for dinner and we liked it.  I used real garlic (instead of garlic powder), sauteed with the fresh mushrooms (don't really like canned mushrooms.) I used milk instead of the half & half, but added 1/2 cup of low fat sour cream to make it a little more rich.  I also added about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.  Very tasty.

Potato, Broccoli, Corn Chowder

I made some really tasty soup.  I boiled 5 potatoes, chopped in cubes.  I sauteed onions & garlic and made a white sauce (flour, vegetable stock, milk, salt & pepper), adding 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, a sprinkle of hot sauce and some cayenne pepper.  After that thickens, add 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, the boiled potatoes, about 2 cups of chopped broccoli (I used frozen that I cooked in the potato water) and 1 cup of frozen corn.  Add more milk or vegetable stock if it's too thick.  We liked it!

Carrot Pesto Bake

I got a new cookbook from the bargain rack at Borders, The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook.  I make my first dish from the cookbook, and while it wasn't a big hit, I think it has potential.  Basically it was a lasagna, where the sauce is a white sauce with cheddar cheese, shredded carrots, and pesto.  The recipe didn't call for any salt -- which was a mistake. Also, I would have liked the carrots to be cooked before baking in the pasta -- so they were softer.  I think you could substitute other veggies or a mix of veggies in place of the carrots -- broccoli, peas, or spinach, maybe.  I think a little hot sauce would be good, too.  If I make this again, it will be a little modified.