Creamy Tomato Pasta Bake

One of the pasta restaurants around me reworked their menu a while ago and did away with one of my favorite dishes. It wasn't a perfect dish at the restaurant, but it was something different than the pasta normally offered.  I decided rather than letting it go, that I might as well try to make it myself.  Be aware if you make this recipe that it makes a very full casserole dish, so it will probably be enough pasta for a family.  It has a bit of something for everyone, though, so I really recommend it.

Serves 4-6

1 package cheese tortellini, enough to serve 4
1 cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-sized piece
1 Italian turkey sausage link, cooked and cut into thin coins
1 1/2 cup marinara
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian six-cheese blend

1. Preaheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
2. Cook tortellini according to package directions, undercooking slightly.  Drain well.  Place pasta in a greased casserole dish with the chicken and sausage, stirring well.  Stir in marinara and smooth top.  Set aside.
3. In small saucepan, whisk flour and milk together.  Set on medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture simmers and thickens.  Stir in salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.  Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese.
4. Pour creamy Parmesan sauce evenly over pasta-tomato mixture.  Do not stir.  Sprinkle evenly with six-cheese blend.
5. Bake pasta dish for 30 minutes or until sauces are bubbly and cheese on the top is browned.  Serve immediately.

Peanut Noodles with Broccoli and Shrimp

Not real sure where the basis for this recipe came from, but this is a dish I have been making for a while now.  I sometimes change the vegetables (snap peas and green beans are also good) or the meat (I also like sliced chicken breast) but the sauce remains much the same.  It's a little sour, a little sweet, with a great nutty start.  The stronger flavors of broccoli and garlic tone down the shrimp nicely as well.  It's tasty all around.

Serves 2-3

8 oz linguine
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb raw shrimp, skinned and deveined
1 1/2 cup broccoli pieces
2 tablespoons water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1. Cook pasta to al dente.  While pasta is cooking, clean shrimp, mince garlic, and cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces.  Drain and set aside.
2. In saucepan where you cooked the pasta, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute garlic until soft, about 2 minutes.  Add drained shrimp and saute until shrimp is lightly browned.  Stir in broccoli, drizzle with water, and season with salt and pepper.  Cover saucepan and steam contents until shrimp is cooked through and broccoli is bright, about 5 minutes.
3. While shrimp and broccoli are steaming, stir cider vinegar and brown sugar together in a small bowl.  Mix until sugar is dissolved.  Add peanut butter and mix well.  Remove cover from saucepan and remove pan from heat.  Stir pasta into shrimp and broccoli, then top with peanut butter sauce.  Stir well and serve immediately.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

I still had squash sitting on my counter from the last CSA delivery, so I decided to try making homemade ravioli.  I have only had this as a frozen entree and I figured if it tastes good even frozen, I might as well take a swing at it. I made my own pasta dough for this ravioli, but the internet assures me that wonton wrappers can also be used if you don't want to take the time to make pasta.  Overall the nutty flavor of the onions and the creaminess of the squash really worked together.

Makes

Butternut squash
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup coarsely chopped onion (about one small)
Dash salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Fresh Pasta or wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
Desired sauce (I used alfredo, but sage butter sauce like this one would also be fantastic)

1. Prepare butternut squash using same technique as used on pumpkin here. Puree can be made and refrigerated a couple of days in advance.
2. Melt butter over low heat in a small skillet.  Add onions and cook--still over low heat--until onions are caramelized.  Resist the urge to turn up the heat here; the low slow cooking gives the onions a nutty sweet flavor that cannot be rushed.  This caramelization can take 20-30 minutes.  You can use this time to do something else, but be sure to stir the onions every few minutes so they cook evenly.  Once onions are uniformly brown and very soft, remove from heat.
3. In bowl of a food chopper, mince sage.  Add caramelized onions and process until paste forms.  Add squash and cheese; process until well combined.
4. If using pasta, roll pasta out thinly.  Using a circle cutter, cut rounds of dough.  Place enough filling to fill but not too much as to have trouble sealing in center of rounds.
5. If using wontons, flatten wrapper on counter.  Place filling in the center.
6. Brush edge of wrapper or pasta with egg-water mixture.  Seal edges with fork or fingers.  If making immediately, drop ravioli into boiling water.  If storing raviolis, place on cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.  To store, freeze ravioli on cookie sheet until solid and then store in airtight container until ready to use.
7.  Boil ravioli for 3-5 minutes or until they begin to float.  Remove from water with a slotted spoon as they float up.  Serve with desired sauce.

Fresh Pasta

I remember that my grandmother used to make her own noodles and I am pretty sure that I helped her at least cut them and lay them out in long strips on her bed to dry, but I haven't made fresh pasta myself for years.  I had some free time and it seemed like as good a time as any to try.  Note about the process: I used my food processor to speed up this process, but it can be done in a bowl with your hands or a fork.  The food processor that I used can be found here:KitchenAid KFPW760WH 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor, White

Serves 4, depending on shape

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash dried herbs, if desired
Tiny pinch baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil

1. In bowl of food processor, process flour, salt, herbs if you are using, and baking powder.  Add eggs and pulse until mixture forms crumbs.  Mix together water and oil.  With food processor running, pour oil-water mixture through tube just until a dough forms.
2. Turn dough onto generously-floured counter.  Knead dough until no longer sticky and smooth.  Cover with overturned bowl for 15-20 minutes, allowing dough to rest and gluten to form.
3.  Divide dough ball in half.  Roll dough half until very thin, about the thickness of construction paper.  While doing this, make sure to move dough around and flip it over to make sure it is not sticking on the rolling surface.
4. Cut dough into desired shapes.  Dry shapes on counter overnight or drop into boiling water as soon as formed.  Fresh pasta will take 3-7 minutes to cook in boiling water, depending on size.

Eggplant Lasagna

I got an eggplant in my last CSA box, so I decided to try to make something different with it.  I was reading something about different kinds of lasagna and that seemed like a good plan.  The rest of the ingredients, well, I had them around.  Surprising how good something without any real plan can be.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large or 2 small chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small eggplant, diced small
2 tablespoons water
Dash salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt, ground black pepper, and garlic salt to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
8 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1. In large skillet, melt butter and oil over medium heat.  Saute chicken breast(s) until done.  Remove to plate to cool and set aside.
2. In same butter and oil, saute garlic until soft.  Add eggplant and saute until soft.  Pour water over and simmer at high heat until water disappears.  Season with salt and garlic salt, then basil.  Set mixture aside.
3. In saucepan, whisk flour and milk together.  Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens.  Simmer for 2 minutes, still stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 Parmesan cheese.  Stir until melted.  Set aside.
4. Dice chicken.
5. Grease a 8-inch square baking pan.  Pour 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of pan and tilt to cover bottom of pan.  Layer two noodles over sauce.  Top with 1/3 of the eggplant--spreading to make it even--then 1/3 of the chicken, then 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat noodles, then eggplant, then chicken layers twice more.  Top final layer of lasagna with 2 more noodles to cover.  Pour all remaining sauce over lasagna.  Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
6. Cover dish with foil.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.  Allow lasagna to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pasta Bolognese

I didn't really set out to make bolognese sauce, but I sort of realized partway through the day that I had all the ingredients for it if I did some tweaking.  This sauce was really good but make no mistake, this is not marinara.  I don't really have a lot of experience with bolognese, so I was surprised at how much flavor this had but also how filling it was.  Luckily the leftovers reheated really well.

Serves 6

4 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 cup sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 lb ground pork
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
Salt and garlic salt to taste
1 lb pasta, for serving
Parmesan cheese, for serving

1. In large skillet with lid, saute bacon pieces until browned and crispy.  Remove bacon pieces and set aside, but reserve drippings in pan.
2.  Saute garlic and onions in bacon drippings until soft and opaque.  Add mushrooms and saute until soft.  Add pork and brown until pork is no longer pink.  Stir in oregano and basil.  Add beef broth and red wine, simmering until liquids in the pan are reduced by about half.  Add tomatoes and tomato paste.  Stir browned bacon pieces into sauce, season to taste, and cover sauce.  Simmer sauce on low for about 30 minutes to combine flavors.  Serve sauce over pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Slow Cooker Minestrone

Because my birthday cake was delicious, but also sort of rich, this was the soup that accompanied it.  It was hearty but also not terribly heavy, which was good because it has been unseasonably warm here and heavy food hasn't really been and option of late.  Putting this in the slow cooker also meant no added heat to the house, which is a definite bonus.  In the interest of full disclosure and giving credit where credit is due, I should also point out that I didn't make this soup.  It was made for me for my birthday.

Serves 6

2 links hot turkey sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
12 oz can canellini beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can diced tomatoes, Italian seasoned style
2 bay leaves
9 cups chicken broth
2 cups small pasta
Parmesan cheese

1. In small skillet, brown hot turkey sausage with onion and garlic.  Season with salt, thyme, and basil.  Stir in flour and continue to cook over medium heat until liquids are reduced.  Pour mixture into pot of a slow cooker.
2. Add chicken, carrots, beans, and diced tomatoes to sausage mixture.  Stir well.  Add bay leaves and chicken broth and stir well.  Cook soup on high heat for 4-6 hours or low heat for 8 hours.
3. About 30-45 minutes before you are ready to eat, add pasta.  Serve once pasta is cooked through.  Remove bay leaves for serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for serving.

Shrimp Florentine

I saw a commercial the other day for some kind of pasta Florentine.  I've never made Florentine before, but it seemed like as good a time as any to try.  I like shrimp, so I thought I would make my Florentine with that.  I know that Florentine is supposed to have spinach in it, but I had swiss chard so I decided to use that instead.  The cheese tortellini combines well with the cream sauce to calm the swiss chard and shrimp flavors down.  It's nicely balanced.


Serves 4

1 package cheese tortellini
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
30 leaves swiss chard, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. In large skillet,  heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute garlic until soft.  Add swiss chard and continue sauteing until swiss chard wilts.  Add shrimp and cook until no longer opaque.  Toss tortellini with shrimp mixture.  Leave on very low heat while you make sauce.
3. In saucepan--it can be the same one that you used for the pasta--whisk flour, milk, basil, and garlic salt together.  Place on medium head and stir constantly until it simmers and thickens.  Turn off heat and add cheeses.  Pour sauce over pasta and stir well.  Season with salt and pepper to serve.

Farfalle with Kale and Ham

I have posted this sauce before on this blog, but it tasted so different with this combination of ingredients that I thought it warranted another post.  I struggle every year to find things to make with greens.  This pasta dish might also warrant repeating, since it uses kale.

Serves 3

2 cups farfalle
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped kale
1/2 cup diced ham
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and garlic salt to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. If you have not already done so, now is a good time to chop the kale and mince the garlic.
3. In same saucepan as pasta was cooked in, melt butter over medium heat.  Add garlic to pan and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add ham to the butter and garlic and stir until ham is fragrant. Mix kale into garlic and ham, stirring and sauteing until kale is wilted.  Toss pasta into kale mixture and remove from heat.  Pour sour cream and Parmesan cheese over hot pasta mixture.  Stir well until sour cream is evenly distributed and Parmesan cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

Tomato Eggplant Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella

I have always wanted to have a good pasta recipe that uses fresh mozzarella.  I got a pretty small eggplant in the CSA box this week and that seemed like the sort of thing that would go well with mozzarella.  Tomatoes also seemed necessary to make some kind of sauce, so I picked up a can of whole tomatoes at the store because that way I could take out the seeds and make a thicker sauce.  The whole thing turned out really well.

Serves 3-4

2 cups penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 very small onion, minced
1 small eggplant, chopped
28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained, seeded, and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
Salt to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. In skillet or same saucepan that you cooked the pasta in, heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion, cooking until soft and translucent.  Add eggplant and cook until soft and darkened in color.  Pour tomatoes, basil, and garlic salt over eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes more, until tomatoes begin to reduce.
3. Add pasta and mozzarella to sauce in pot.  Stir sauce, pasta, and cheese well until all is combined and cheese just begins to melt.  Season with salt as needed.  Remove pan from heat and serve immediately.

Ziti with Roasted Tomatoes

I wanted to try some use for tomatoes other than the traditional sauce, especially since the traditional sauce takes more time than I typically have on a weeknight.  I had read a blurb about roasting tomatoes in a cooking magazine a while ago and decided to give it a try.  Adding other vegetables produced a pretty tasty sauce in about 20 minutes, which is much more my weeknight speed.

Serves 4

1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes, cleaned with stems removed
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 small onion, quartered
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme)
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups ziti, uncooked
15-20 leaves swiss chard, stems removed and chopped (about 3 cups chopped)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Combine tomatoes, garlic, and onion in gallon-sized baggie.  Add salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil.  Seal baggie and shake to coat vegetables in oil.  Place vegetables on a lipped baking sheet.  Bake vegetables at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until tomatoes are popped and browned.
2. While tomatoes are baking, cook pasta according to package directions.  When there is 5 minutes remaining on the cooking time, stir swiss chard into boiling pasta water.  Drain completely when pasta and swiss chard are done.  Set aside.
3. After tomatoes are removed from oven and still very hot, use a wooden spoon to burst tomatoes.  Push on garlic cloves until they pop out of peels; discard peels.  Using wooden spoon, mash garlic cloves and onions into tomatoes.  This mashing should create a thick sauce on the baking sheet.
4. Return pasta and swiss chard to pot.  Stir tomato sauce into pasta, coating pasta and evenly distributing sauce.  Stir Parmesan cheese into pasta and sauce.  Serve hot.

Marinara

I had a lot of herbs left over, even after making pesto, so marinara was put on the menu for this week.  Whenever I have made marinara in the past--and it's been a while--I made it on a weekend and simmered it for hours to reach the right consistency.  On a weeknight, I don't really have hours and hours.  By putting it in the slowcooker, it simmered all day.  I saved myself even more time by chopping the herbs, garlic, and onion and browning hamburger the night before.  However you make it, it's very satisfying.

Serves 6-8

3/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup oregano leaves
7 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 lb hamburger, browned (optional, but I used)
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons garlic salt
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Finely chop parsley, basil, and oregano leaves.  I used my food chopper to do this.  Place herbs in large stockpot or crockpot. 
2. Mince garlic and onions.  I used my chopper for this as well.  Place with onions and garlic in pot or crockpot with herbs.  Mix in hamburger, if using.  Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and garlic salt.
3. If using stockpot, place on medium high heat until it reaches a simmer and reduce heat to low to simmer for at least 2 hours.  For a crockpot, place sauce on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.  Serve marinara with spaghetti, ravioli, or your choice of pasta.  If you have leftover sauce, it can be frozen for later use.

Baked Pesto Pasta

My friend had a pesto pasta dish at a restaurant that she swore was almost the best pasta she had ever eaten.  Pesto, creamy sauce, chicken, and pancetta.  Pancetta isn't really my favorite thing and I find that it is very expensive in my area, but the rest I could do easily enough.

Makes 4-6 servings

3 cups penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
3 oz spinach, chopped
6 oz cooked chicken, chopped
Dash salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup Pesto
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook penne in salted water according to package directions, undercooking by a couple of minutes.  Drain pasta and pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a small skillet, saute garlic in olive oil.  Add spinach and saute until wilted.  Stir in dash salt and 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt. Remove from heat.
3. Mix sauteed garlic and spinach with pasta.  Add pesto and chicken; stir well.  Set aside.
4. Whisk flour with milk.  In a medium saucepan, heat sauce over medium heat while stirring constantly.  Cook sauce until bubbly and thick.  Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt.  Stir until cheese is melted.
4. Pour sauce over evenly over pasta; do NOT mix.  Top sauce with mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake pasta in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until top is golden brown.  Serve hot.

Linguini with Broccoli and Garlic

 It was really hot here Saturday and I ended up being out in the heat pretty much all day.  After getting back late, I was in the market for a dinner that was fast and didn't require the oven to be on.  Bingo.

Serves 4-6


16 oz box linguini
1 head broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried chopped basil
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

1. Bring heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil.  Salt liberally.  Once water is at a full rolling boil, add pasta.  About 4 minutes before the pasta is done, add broccoli to boiling water.  Cook pasta and broccoli until done. Drain well and set aside.
2. In same saucepan, heat butter until melted.  Stir in minced garlic.  Cook and stir, over low heat, until fragrant and garlic is cooked.
3. In large serving bowl, toss drained pasta and broccoli with garlic and butter.  Add basil and Parmesan cheese.  Toss again until all is evenly distributed.

Penne with Creamy Tomato Sauce

I am one of those people that is very food-suggestible.  Most food commercials are probably made for people like me because the second I see something like macaroni and cheese, all I can think about for dinner options until I break down and make it is "man, macaroni and cheese sounds really good."  I happened to catch a show on the Cooking Channel last night that showed someone making penne in a tomato sauce.  Tonight, I made this for dinner.  It was everything I hoped it would be.

Serves: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 spring onion, chopped (or about 2 tablespoons regular onion)
1 cup chopped spinach
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 14oz cans petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon red wine
2 cups penne
4 oz cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat kind)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. In heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion. Saute until tender, 1-2 minutes.  Stir in spinach and oregano until wilted.  Pour tomatoes over sauteed mixture and stir well.  Stir in bay leaf, sugar, and wine.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 1 hour or until tomatoes start to break down and any liquids are absorbed.
2. Once sauce has been simmering for 30 minutes, begin preparing pasta.  Prepare according to package directions and drain well.  Set aside.
3. Turn heat off below tomato sauce.  Stir cream cheese and Parmesan cheese into tomato sauce, mixing until smooth and melted.  Add penne to creamy tomato sauce and toss until evenly coated.

Tortellini with Sage and Brown Butter

During CSA season last year, I heard a lot about the virtues of the sage/brown butter sauce.  In the interest of full-disclosure, I'll mention that I did try to make it last year and ended up burning the sage.  Needless to say, brown butter cannot be used to brown bacon.  Try number two tasted a lot less like burned leaves.

Serves 2-4
Small bag dried cheese tortellini
1 cup snap peas, cut in half
1/8 cup finely chopped sage
2 garlic scapes, finely sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnish

1. Cook tortellini according to package directions.  In last 3 minutes of cooking, add snap peas and cook all until done.  Drain and set aside.
2. In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt butter.  Cook butter until it turns frothy and butter begins to brown, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic scapes and sage.  Cook and stir until garlic is cooked and sage is crispy.  Remove from heat.
3. Squeeze lemon half over pan to release 1-2 tablespoons of juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well.  Add cooked tortellini and snap peas to brown butter sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for serving.

Faux Alfredo with Spinach

I'm not entirely certain when the idea came to me that sour cream might be able to double for actual cream in alfredo recipes.  It was probably some night when Husband or I really wanted alfredo, I didn't want to go to the grocery store, and I realized that I had sour cream in the fridge.  Either way, it's a fall back that I have made a number of times in many different manners.  Don't be fooled, it isn't as creamy and rich as real alfredo made with heavy cream.  But it does give a nice creamy finish to whole-wheat pasta and tempers strong vegetables well.

Serves 2-4
2 cups small whole-wheat pasta (I used rotini)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
2 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 10 oz bag spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

1. In medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Cook whole-wheat pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. In same saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Saute spring onion and garlic scapes until soft.  Add spinach and cook until dry, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

3. Toss pasta in saucepan with spinach-onion-garlic mixture.  Top with sour cream and Parmesan cheese.  Stir until pasta and spinach is evenly coated.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.

Chicken Spinach Lasagna

I actually made up this recipe a few weeks ago, but it seemed like a good way to use up excess spinach.  Husband is not a huge fan of cooked spinach, but he likes it if I cover the taste with garlic so this has become a common practice in my house.  My absolute favorite thing about this recipe, other than the fact that it is tasty, satisfying, and relatively easy, is that it tastes a lot less healthy than it is.  Sneaky healthy food is always a winner, in my book.


Serves 4-6

12 lasagna noodles
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 oz spinach, chopped
10 garlic scapes, chopped
1 container ricotta (I use the part-skim)
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese (the amount is based on preference)
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. Saute chicken breasts, seasoned lightly with some salt, pepper, and garlic salt.  I like to give them a nice sear in the pan and then cover them until they are cooked through.  Set aside on a cutting board to cool.
3. Using the drippings from the chicken, saute garlic scapes and spinach until the garlic scapes are tender and the spinach is dry.  While these are sauteing, you can cube the cooked chicken.  Cool slightly and transfer to a heat-proof bowl.  Stir in ricotta and 1/2 cup Parmesan.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Stir flour into milk until smooth.  In a saucepan, stir four and milk mixture constantly over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce simmers.  Simmer for 5 minutes or until thick and smooth.  Stir in remaining Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.
5. Grease a 9x13-inch-pan.  Pour 1/2 cup sauce into bottom of pan.  Top with three lasagna noodles (enough to make a layer).  Spread 1/3 of the spinach-ricotta mixture on top of noodles, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the chicken.  Place on desired amount of mozzarella cheese.  Create another layer of noodles, ricotta-spinach mixture, and chicken.  Pour 1/2 of the remaining sauce over this layer.  Top sauce with another layer of noodles, remaining ricotta spinach mixture, chicken, and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.  Place remaining noodles on top of this third layer and top those noodles with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
6. Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 35 minutes.