Mexican Lasagna

This is definitely one of my favourite recipes, it's cheesy, delicious, and a crowd-pleaser.  I have made if for quite a few different people and they always love it.  I usually serve it with sour cream and salsa, but you can also throw some sliced black olives, tomatoes, avocado, or shredded lettuce on top as well.  The recipe doubles well, just make it in a 9x13 inch pan instead.  I find this lasagna just as good the next day, so I definitely like to have left-overs.  

Mexican Lasagna

1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp. chili powder (homemade recipe here)
540 ml can tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
3 large tortillas
2 green onions, sliced
Toppings:
salsa
sour cream
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add onions and cook until soft.  Add ground beef and garlic and cook until beef is browned.  Mix in chili powder and then add tomato sauce and sugar.  Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Preheat oven to 350F.  Beat the egg and then mix with cottage cheese.
Spread the bottom of a 9x9 pan with 1/3 of the beef and sauce.  Cover with 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese.  Place a tortilla on top, cutting so that it fits.  Add the cottage cheese and cover with another tortilla.  Cover the tortilla with 1/3 of the beef and the rest of the Mozzarella cheese.  Place the last tortilla on top and cover with the rest of the beef and the Cheddar cheese.  Sprinkle the green onion over top.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Serve with salsa, sour cream or any other toppings.  Enjoy!

Zucchini and Sweet Potato Pilaf

I recently bought 3 beautiful zucchinis of different colours, but didn't know what I wanted to make with them.  Then I remembered this brown rice casserole that I have made a few times before.  I usually just make it with regular dark green zucchini, but I thought the extra colours would brighten the dish up more. This is a really hearty casserole that I like to serve as a side to fish, or on its own if I'm having it for lunch.  And with only 4 ingredients it's a convenient recipe to make.  

Zucchini and Sweet Potato Pilaf

1 1/2 cups of brown rice

2 1/4 cups vegetable broth

2 small zucchini, diced

1 sweet potato, diced

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix all of the ingredients in a baking pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Stir rice and vegetables and add a bit of water if necessary.  Cover tightly again and continue cooking for another 15-30 minutes.  Rice and sweet potatoes should be fully cooked.

Squash and Gnocchi 'Mac' and Cheese

I got the idea to make this dish after trying this recipe for Gnocchi Mac and Cheese.  It was super good, and easy to make, but I like to add vegetables to everything I can and I thought squash would be a great additive to this dish.  I also added a bit of spice in the form of paprika and cayenne and I used a smoky Gouda cheese.  It turned out so well!  The squash blended in so nicely and added some colour to the dish.  Unfortunately the lighting in my house is terrible for taking food pictures, so this pic doesn't do it justice.  But trust me, in real life...yum.

Squash and Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

1/2 a large Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed

1 tbsp olive oil (or other cooking oil)

1 pound of fresh Gnocchi

2 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp flour

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup Smoked Gouda cheese, shredded

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.  Put the squash into a 9x9 pan and coat with olive oil and salt and pepper.  (I like a lot of pepper, but season to your tastes.)  Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until tender but not fully cooked.

Cook Gnocchi according to package directions, drain, and set aside.  Melt butter over medium heat, add in garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds.  Whisk in flour until it bubbles.  Add milk and whisk constantly for about 3 minutes or until it begins to thicken.  Stir in the Gouda cheese until melted.  Season with cayenne, paprika, salt, and pepper.  

Mix the Gnocchi in with squash and then pour the cheese sauce over top.  Top with the Parmesan cheese.  Bake for another 20 minutes, until top is golden and cheese is bubbly.  Let sit for a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Individual Vegetable Pot Pies

Some things are just better when they are in a mini-version, a nice small version that you don't have to share.  Like cupcakes:)  I love pot pies, I love their completeness in one dish.  And I love how great these mini ones are for taking in my lunch.  I usually make chicken or turkey pot pie, but I don't really eat a whole lot of meat, so this time I just made veggie ones.  The huge inconvenience (for me) of making a pot pie has always been making the crust.  I hate making pie crust, it just doesn't turn out well for me.  Maybe it can feel my anger towards it, so in retaliation it becomes extra tough.  Or maybe I just mix it too much.  Either way, it' a pain to make.  But it will thwart my pot pie making no more!  I have discovered the use of Pillsbury Crescent roll dough as a crust!  It gets so nice and flaky on top, it's perfect.
And although this recipe is for individual vegetable pies, it can be made with poultry, and/or full sized as well.  If you want to add some cooked shredded chicken to it just use less vegetables.  Everything else will be the same.  And if you want a full sized pie I would use a deep dish pie pan, or something of similar size, and just bake it a little longer.  So here is my vegetable pot pie recipe with my pie crust alternative:

Vegetable Pot Pie:

3 tablespoons of butter

2 1/2 cups of peeled, cubed potatoes.  (About 2 medium spuds)

1 large onion, diced

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1/4 cup flour

2 cups vegetable broth

4 cups fresh vegetables, chopped (I used carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.  Green beans, peas, and many other veggies would also go great in this!)

1/4 cup milk

1 container of Pillsbury crescent rolls

1/3 cup shredded cheddar

Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add the onions, potatoes, and seasoning and cook over med-high heat for about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle the flour over the potatoes, and then add broth, stirring well.  Add the vegetables and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are close to being cooked.  Remove from heat and stir in milk.  Fill 4 two-cup ovenproof dishes with the mixture.  Seperate the Pillsbury rolls and use one for each of the pot pies.  (You can cut them to make them fit better.  Making different shapes, like hearts or stars would look great!)  Put the 4 dishes onto a baking sheet and cook at 375 for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese, and continue baking for 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

Super Easy Stuffed Shells!

I used to always buy the frozen cheese and spinach stuffed cannelloni, but for close to $10 I was only getting a little over 2 "servings" ('cause I do love my pasta!) so I thought I should try making it myself.  I have never bought it frozen since!  It's simple to make, and for about the same price I get so much more food out of it.  Plus I can make it much healthier than the store-bought stuff.  This is another one of those recipes that's really easy to change, depending on what you have on hand.  For example, this time I added cauliflower to the filling.  I have also made it many times using only tomato sauce (no Alfredo) or by adding some cream to the tomato sauce.  If you want to make it really healthy, just go with the tomato sauce, and if you want something extra decadent, cover the top with grated Mozzarella and Parmesan.  Mmmm, cheese.  I also usually use a large container of ricotta cheese, but the store was sold out, and so I just used a 300g container.  And it was still amazing!  By the way, I use jumbo pasta shells instead of Cannelloni because I find it way easier to stuff.  But if you have more patience than me, go for the Cannelloni!

Oops, didn't realize how blurry the picture was!

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

1 box Jumbo Pasta Shells

300 g. Ricotta cheese

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach (300 g.)

1 cup finely chopped cauliflower

1 cup tomato pasta sauce

1 cup Alfredo sauce

Salt and Pepper

Cook pasta according to directions on box, then drain.  While the pasta is cooking thaw spinach in microwave and cook cauliflower.  Mix the vegetables with the ricotta cheese, season with salt and pepper.  Cover the bottom of a 9x9 pan (for 2 layers, if you want one layer use a 9x12) with a thin layer of tomato sauce.  Stuff each shell with about a tablespoon of the filling.  (If you want to swear less than me, wait until the pasta cools down before handling the shells!)  Once you have a layer of stuffed shells put a spoonful of tomato sauce over each one.  Continue stuffing shells and adding them to the pan until you run out of the veggie-cheese mixture.  (I usually have a few left over shells.)  Pour the rest of the tomato sauce on top, and then pour on the Alfredo.  Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Serve with freshly grated Parmesan if desired:)