Baked Manicotti

This is my altered recipe from Americas Test Kitchens. Not that their recipes aren't perfect, I just found a few shortcuts and added a vegetable.

1 jar TJ's Marinara sauce 28 oz
2 tubs of low fat cottage cheese 16 oz each
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped spinach - I used frozen that I defrosted first
black pepper
No boil lasagna noodles

Pour 1 inch boiling water into 13 by 9-inch broiler safe baking dish, ( I used a sheet pan so I could soak 6 at a time) then add noodles one at a time. Let noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating noodles with tip of sharp knife to prevent sticking. (I had to soak them twice with boiling water) Remove noodles from water and place on a plate one at a time.

Spread bottom of 13 X 9 inch baking dish evenly with 1 1/2 cups sauce. Using soup spoon, spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture evenly onto bottom three-quarters of each noodle (with short side facing you), leaving top quarter of noodle exposed. Roll into tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. Top evenly with remaining sauce, making certain that pasta is completely covered.

Bake at 375 for 45 min or until pasta is tender.

Crock Pot Pork Chops

4-5 small pork chops
1/2 chopped onion
4-6 small apples or 3 -4 large Apples, Peeled & Chopped into small pieces
3 Tbsp of butter
1/4 Cup of brown sugar
Few splashes of OJ
Few shakes of Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Sear the pork in a hot pan. Brown outside to seal in moisture. Transfer into crock pot. Add fresh apples, chopped onion, brown sugar, orange juice,butter, seasonings, salt & pepper. Cook for 2-4 hours. Cook side of garlic mashed potatoes if you can.

Beef Teriyaki

Americas test kitchen Beef Teriyaki, reminded me of PF Changs Mongolian Beef. Very tasty.

Beef TeriyakiFrom America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mirin, sherry, or white wine
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds top blade steak, trimmed and sliced 1/4" thick (you can also used 1 1/2 pounds of flank steak if you can't find top blade steak)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
2 scallions, sliced thin

Whisk the soy sauce, sugar, mirin (sherry/wine), ginger, garlic, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes together and set aside.

Pat the meat dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of the meat, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a clean bowl. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and meat.

Briefly re-whisk the soy sauce mixture to recombine, then add to the skillet. Simmer, scraping up any browned bits, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Return the meat with any accumulated juice to the skillet and toss to warm through. Transfer the meat and sauce to a serving platter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and scallions.

Tuscan White-Bean Stew

I hear there's no copyright laws I'm violating by posting a recipe from Cookie Magazine, so here it goes.... it comes from a section in the October edition entitled "peasant food."

Tuscan Ribollita
Serves 6 | 20 minutes active time | 1 1/2 hours total

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 4 ounces pancetta or ham, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 3 15-ounce cans cannellini or great northern beans,
  drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 bunch kale, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
• Grated Parmesan

1. In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the first five ingredients in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil for 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the beans, broth, and rosemary. Simmer, covered, until the beans break apart, about an hour.
3. Add the kale and cook for 5 to 7 minutes more. Stir in the bread crumbs and serve, drizzled with the remaining olive oil and sprinkled with the cheese.

TIP: If you don't have a Dutch oven, use a shallow metal baking pan covered with foil.

My customizations to this recipe are that I used prosciutto once and normal ham another time. I also recommend doubling the carrots and celery. After you serve the soup (it's very thick) in bowls is when you drizzle on the olive oil. It makes for great dipping if you also have a baguette. Oh yeah, and it doesn't really serve six. I doubled the recipe and it served 5 adults and 4 kids.

Homemade sloppy joes

3 C shredded leftover pork or chicken, OR 1 lb ground meat browned
14 oz can petite-cut diced tomatoes (or not petite-cut)
1/2 C ketchup (I think I'll use maybe 3/4 C next time so it's messier!)
1 T dijon mustard
1 t liquid smoke
1 t dry basil or 1 cube TJ's frozen basil
1 t chili powder
1 t cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 C frozen corn kernels
1 C frozen chopped bell pepper or 1 fresh pepper

kaiser rolls to serve


In saucepan, combine meat through black pepper, waiting to add corn and bell pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add veggies and simmer 5 minutes more until heated through. If you like your veggies softer then just add them in the first place and simmer for 10 minutes.

Spoon mixture onto warm rolls and serve hot.

Stove-top macaroni and cheese with ham

1 lb elbow macaroni
1/2 C sour cream
1 1/2 C milk
3 C shredded cheese, mix and match
2 t dijon mustard
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
1/8 t nutmeg
1 C diced ham

optional: dry bread crumbs and grated parmesan, about 2T each

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain and transfer to large bowl. While still hot, stir in sour cream and set aside. I would wait about 1 minute after it's in the bowl.

Scald milk by heating over medium heat until tiny bubbles just appear around the edges, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese, mustard, pepper, salt, and nutmeg and simmer until the cheeses melt, stirring gently and constantly. Fold the cheese mixture into the pasta, along with the ham, and transfer to a serving dish.

Optional: combine bread crumbs and parmesan, then add to a dry skillet and set over medium heat. Cook 1 to 2 minutes until both are golden brown. Sprinkle evenly over macaroni and serve.

Also optional: I browned the cubed ham before adding to macaroni because it tastes better that way.

Tortellini Salad

We had this at Emma's birthday party and it was a hit-at least among the people that eat salads or pasta with more than one ingredient ;)

It's great to make ahead and tonight, I didn't have all of the ingredients so I improvised a bit and it was still delish.

6T olive oil
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, minced (I used some minced red onion this time around since I didn't have a shallot)
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
1 lb asparagus trimmed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces (I had to leave these out this time since I didn't have any :( )
2 9oz pkgs of fresh cheese tortellini (you could probably use dried ?)
1/4 c toasted pine nuts
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (I added extra this time since I didn't have asparagus)
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

1. whisk oil, basil, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper together in the bowl you will make the salad in

2. cook asparagus in boiling, salted water unti ltender (3 min). Transfer to a colander using a slotted spoon (don't dump cooking water) and run under cold water until cooled off. toss with dressing.

3. return water to boil, add tortellini and cook until tender. drain thoroughly and toss while hot with the asparagus and dressing. refrigerate until chilled.

**** if you're making it ahead of time, stop here****

4. just before serving, add pine nuts, tomatoes and parm. (if you made the salad the day before, you might want to freshen it with a bit more oil and lemon juice before serving)