Recipe Monday: Lasagna Rolls

I’ve been posting our go-to dinners for over a month now and I’m going to run out soon. Seriously…we’re not that inventive. We make the same stuff EVERY WEEK…but it’s good stuff so we don’t mind eating it over and over and over.

This week’s recipe is no different than the others. Good and easy, but this one takes a little longer so it’s usually not a weeknight meal for us. It’s originally from Food Network Chef Giada de Laurentis. Ours is pretty close to the original, just sans prosciutto and with lower fat milk and cheese.

Lasagna Rolls 

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups skim milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg (we use 3 pinches because we love nutmeg)

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container part skim milk ricotta cheese
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

 

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan,  egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

 

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

 

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamel sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodlesand ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

 

And that’s it! This one is really a crowd pleaser…we’ve made it for our parents, grandparents, friends and everyone loves it.

 

I leave for Texas tomorrow for 10 days, so there will be no recipe Monday next week but I’ll get back to it as soon as I return (with a full trip recap, of course)

 

- BGD -

Recipe Monday: Turkey, Cheddar & Avocado Paninis with Salad

Happy Monday guys! I’m a little late on this one, but I was holding out (with crossed fingers) that tonight’s dinner would be a hit and I could blog about it. Total fail! This is the second time we’ve tried to make curry with no luck. I think we need some help from our friends over at Let Loose Littell.

Ben and I made this on Saturday night and were in food heaven after eating this one on the couch with a glass of wine (beer for Ben). Yes, we sat on the couch drinking and eating on a Saturday night…and loved every second of it

This one is easy (I mean…what do I make that’s hard?) and yummy and what more can you ask for?

Turkey, Cheddar & Avocado Paninis with Salad

Ingredients:
Enough to make 6 sandwiches

• 1 Loaf of Fresh Baked Bread, sliced (we use whatever’s on sale at Whole Foods, but Ciabatta or Sour Dough is always a good choice)
• 1/2 Pound Deli Turkey, thinly sliced
• 1 Avocado, sliced
• 12 slices of blocked Cheddar Cheese (Cabot is a MUST! Trust me…you’ll never eat Kraft again)
• 1 Tomato, sliced
• Pre-packaged Salad Mix (We use OrganicGirl)
• Goddess Dressing (Annie’s or Whole Foods brand are both delish)

Directions

Heat up a panini grill or grill pan and assemble your paninis. We like to put the cheese on the bottom so it melts quickly against the heat. Our layers went like this: 2 pieces of cheese, 2-3 slices of turkey, avocado, tomato. Be sure to spray the grill plates with cooking spray so you get those neat brown marks. Throw those suckers on for a few minutes until they get said brown marks. Grab a few handfuls of salad and top with Goddess Dressing. DONEZO! THE END! Seriously…that’s it.

Edit and substitute with whatever you have in the house…that’s the beauty of paninis. You really can’t screw em up!

Enjoy!

- BGD -

Recipe Monday: Baked Ziti and Summer Veggies

I ripped this one out of the pages of Cooking Light and Ben and I tried it out…and loved it! What’s not to like…cheese, vegetables, cheese, pasta, cheese. Add a bottle glass of wine and it’s a party. So here it is for you guys…quick and easy plus you can substitute for whatever is fresh at the grocery store. I changed the quantities a little (and obviously made it less healthy) so you’ll have left overs.

Baked Ziti and Summer Veggies

Ingredients

• 1 lb uncooked ziti
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow squash
• 2 cups chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cups chopped tomato
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini, and onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add tomato and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

4. Combine ricotta, remaining salt, and egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon into an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Tonight we’re trying out a Mexican Shrimp Salad recipe. If it’s not a total fail I’ll post on it next week.

- BGD -

Holy S*%$! It’s Bar Day!

And I’m not talking about St. Patty’s Day. Today is THE day. After months of studying, stressing and general unhappiness, today is the day that Ben takes the Georgia Bar. Good lord everyone cross your fingers, eyes and toes and hope for the best.

Let's hope not :/

Because of a little last minute doggy drama (not to worry, he’s A- OK), Rocky made the trek down to Atlanta (College Park) with Ben and I and is keeping me company during the day while Ben gets tortured takes the Bar. Come September 7th I’ll be working from home full time so I figured working from a hotel room a good practice, right? RIGHT!

Sunday night we packed up the car and we clearly have all the necessary Bar-taking items…

Popcorn, cheesy poofs, peanut butter cookies, animal crackers (my personal favorite), almonds and water (so we can pretend we’re eating healthy) and the creme de la creme… a Voges Bacon Chocolate Bar.

We’ll be hanging out in College Park until Thursday when we head back to Winston. There is lots of champagne, wine and beer ready for the man when we returns home. I have a really good feeling he’s going to be unconscious (from drinking or sleeping I’m not yet sure) and he absolutely deserves to sit on his butt and let his brain turn to mush for as looooong as he wants after the fun he’s been through.

- BGD -

Recipe Monday: Almond Crusted Tilapia with Mushroom Green Beans

Hello, hello and Happy Monday! Ben, Rocky and I will be on our way to Atlanta (actually College Park) for the Georgia Bar today…but more on that tomorrow. We’ve got important things to discuss today!

It’s recipe Monday again and I’m bringing you another quick, healthy and yummy favorite of ours. This one only takes a few ingredients and is easier than just about anything else we make. The original recipe is here from Good Housekeeping and this is probably the ONLY recipe in my binder that I haven’t changed. This will make four main dish servings so feel free to alter if you’re cooking for two like us.

Almond Crusted Tilapia with Mushroom Green Beans

Ingredients

• 2  lemons
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon  black pepper
• 4   tilapia fillets
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (I just chop up the whole ones instead of buying them pre-sliced)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 12-ounces trimmed fresh green beans
• 1 package or 10 ounces sliced white mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. From 1 lemon, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 3 tablespoons juice; cut second lemon into wedges. In cup, mix lemon peel and 1 tablespoon juice, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
2. Spray 13″ by 9″ glass baking dish with nonstick spray (or rub with butter or olive oil); place tilapia, dark side down, in dish. Drizzle tilapia with lemon mixture; top with almonds, pressing them on. Bake 15 minutes or until tilapia turns opaque.
3. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high 1 minute. Add onion and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in green beans, mushrooms, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. Cook about 6 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates and green beans are tender-crisp. Toss with remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Serve bean mixture and lemon wedges with tilapia.

And voila! You have a delicious, healthy dinner in 30 minutes. Do yourself a favor and don’t skip out on the green beans (I know it’s tempting to sub for mac n’ cheese!…they are seriously good. The onion caramelizes and that flavor combined with the mushrooms is really freaking good.

Questions? Leave a comment!

Happy cooking!

- BGD -

Recipe Monday: Tortilla Soup

Happy Monday guys! I’m officially starting Recipe Monday on the blog and my first go round is an adaptation from a Rachel Ray recipe. This is a simple, healthy recipe that’s delicious and so easy to make. The recipe yields about 4 servings and is just as good the next day for lunch. I hope you like this one as much as we do.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can  of corn
• 1 red bell pepper, split and seeded
• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
• 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/3 palm full
• Salt and pepper
• 1 medium zucchini sliced
• 1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp canned sliced jalapeño peppers, chopped
• 1 can stewed tomatoes, 28 ounces
• 1 can tomato sauce, 8 ounces
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups tortilla chips, broken up into large pieces
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or pepper Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 sliced avocado
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (if you have it)

Directions

Dice chicken and add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken on each side. Add zucchini, onions, garlic, red peppers and jalapeños. Cook vegetables with chicken 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low.

Add corn to pot and allow to heat. Add chips to soup in handfuls and fold in. Serve soup immediately with scatter of shredded cheese, dollop of sour cream and avocado. Sprinkle with cilantro if you have it.

ENJOY!

- BGD -

4th of July Weekend Recap…finally!

First, sorry for the delayed post! I know I promised a 4th of July weekend update way over a week ago, but life (i.e. WORK) just got in the way. C’est la vie!

So here we go…

Friday I got my hair done at Serenity Salon with the fabulous Mrs. Regina Cox. It has taken me no less than 6 hair stylists to finally find someone who can do what I want and as luck would have it I found Regina just a few months before moving to Atlanta. Again, C’est la vie, right? Good thing there are 23891283 salons in Atlanta…fingers crossed I’ll find someone as good as Regina.

After that, Ben and I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the downtown Mellow Mushroom. It was our first night back in the apartment since the family we were house siting for came home from London so we were happy to come home early and enjoy being in our own space again.

Saturday I volunteered at The Children’s Home for a few hours (AMAZING place that can always use volunteers… hint, hint!), took a walk with Rocky and Ben around Reynolda Village and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

Saturday night we ate at a Winston-Salem staple, The Old 4th Street Filling Station. They have everything from burgers to salads to one of their signature dishes, Shrimp & Grits. And let me just tell you…I’ve been living in the South for 3 years now and this is no ordinary Shrimp & Grits. I’m told the dish (which consists of sauteed shrimp, spinach and andouille sausage served over grilled grit cakes topped with a spicy chipotle cream sauce…uhhh, yum!) has been featured in Southern Living magazine. If that doesn’t prove it’s Southern street cred I don’t know what will!

Behold it’s greatness!

This is one of the many times when I know this quote is 100% true.

Story of my life, folks!

We got to bed early that night because we had a BIG Sunday planned. I woke up way too early to do my Tracy Anderson video, showered and headed out to the U.S. National Whitewater Center just two hours away in Charlotte, NC.

From their website: The USNWC is the best place for family and friends to play outdoors and have fun. Home to the world’s largest man-made whitewater river and with many different water and land activities, the USNWC is Charlotte’s ultimate playground.

It also happens to be the training site of the U.S. Olympic Team. Not to shabby, Charlotte!

There are so many things to do there besides whitewater rafting including flatwater kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, whitewater kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, zip lining, eco trekking,  and hiking.

Not only is this place filled with the best outdoor activities all in one place, it also has amazing food and features lots of local brews.

End of the day soaking wet after our 2nd time rafting! Do NOT make fun of the crocs!

After spending a solid 8 hours here, we headed off to Lake Norman to visit one of Ben’s fraternity brothers. He rents an amazing house literally on Lake Norman and was nice enough to invite us over for the night. The owners of the house throw a HUGE party every year complete with a ginormous fireworks display off of their dock. They live in South Carolina where REAL fireworks are sold and holy S were they crazy. It was impossible for me to get good pictures with my POS camera at night, but I did manage to take grab some after pictures from the curb.

Seriously?! Please note the warning.

There is definitely something about being on the water that makes me feel so calm. We sat in the yard, drank beer, watched fireworks, listened to someone at the party play acoustic guitar and we absolutely loved every second of it.

Ryan, Ben and I on the lake

Monday morning we did one of the coolest things I’ve done in a while. Ben’s friend Ryan recently bought a Cessna 182 and took us up for a flight around the lake. Ryan grew up in an aviation family and his brother is a Blue Angel! AMAZING!

The boys checking out the plane before takeoff!

Is this the back seat or the back pit?

View of Lake Norman from above

After the flight we grabbed a quick bite to eat, drove home and picked up Rocky from the most amazing doggy daycare/boarding place I’ve ever been to, Ruff Housing. Rocky got to play all day and even got a surprise 4th of July treat…doggy ice cream! Ruff Housing has cameras in all areas on 24 hours a day so neurotic pet parents like me can rest assured that their furry babies are getting the same care as they would at home. They offer early drop offs at 5 AM and late pick ups at 9 PM which makes it easy to get away for a night or two and not have to worry about rushing back to pick up the baby.

When we got home we decided to whip up some home cooking in honor of America’s Independence and we were clearly inspired by the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest we watched earlier that day. When we took these out of the oven Ben actually said “Take that Joey Chestnut”!

A true American dish - Pigs in a Blanket (or if you're Ben you call them Weenie Tots)

We had a wonderful weekend, but MAN were we tired! I’m still tired reliving it all to be honest!

Sleepy baby

The next few weeks will bring lots of studying as Ben prepares to take the Georgia Bar. Everyone wish him good luck! We’re heading to Nashville right after the Bar to visit Ben’s cousin Bailey who just opened the first female owned brewery in Tennessee, Jackalope Brewery. Can’t wait!

- BGD -

Eating, Drinking and Laughing!

Sometimes I can’t stand Sundays. I get the Sunday blues thinking about the end to a fabulous weekend and the beginning of another work week. It’s not that I don’t love my job or enjoy what I do, I just enjoy the weekends a little more. At least I have a long, July 4th weekend to plan and look forward to.

Ben and I had a really nice weekend. He’s had his head in the books (and computer screen) studying for the Georgia Bar, so it’s pretty rare these days to get TWO weekend nights out of him. Lucky for me, this weekend I was able to weasel it out of him .

Friday night we had a quick bite at Burke Street Pizza, which is decent for Winston pizza and then we finally saw Bridesmaids!

Funniest S I've seen since Hangover (part one of course...part two was such a bummer )

I haven’t laughed that hard in a loooong time and I was actually crying and wheezing simultaneously during the airplane scene. In case you haven’t seen it yet, the preview is below.

Saturday night we checked out a new-ish restaurant in town,  Mooney’s Mediterranean Cafe. We were both pleasantly surprised with both the food and prices. They’re located on the corner of 4th & Liberty and we dined on their cute little patio. Ben got a gyro and tried the Mother Earth Weeping Willow Wit (local NC brewery, check out their beer @ Whole Foods!) and I got a falafel pita with extra tahini and a glass of wine. For dessert we tried their baklava (meh). Overall, good food for the money since we got out of there for under $40 including tip. We will definitely go back and be more adventurous with our selections!

On Mooney's Patio

After dinner we met up with some friends on Trade Street and listened to a 70-80′s cover band. The band stopped playing around 9:30 PM (boo!) so we hopped over to Tate’s for some drinks. The place was absolutely packed (good for them!) and we stuck around for an hour or so. Even though I’m pretty much a beer and wine only girl, I love going to Tate’s because of their creative drink menu. I’ve had the Papa Doble (10 Cane Rum, Grapefruit Juice, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup and Grenadine) and the Bellini (Prosecco, Housemade White Peach Puree and Peach Cordial) and both were super delicious. Tate’s also offers small plates by Winston’s own Holly Tate Fine Catering, but we’ve yet to try them.

Today we visited one of my FAVORITE spots in Winston for brunch, Breakfast of Course (Mary’s Too). We’ve been going to Mary’s since we moved to Winston and followed her to the new location downtown. The walls are decked out by local artists and she uses fresh, local ingredients in her food. There is usually a long wait and the food doesn’t come out quick, but it’s seriously worth it. Her menu is imaginative and fun and I always leave Mary’s smiling (my tummy does, too). Today I had a baby-sized omelet (which is not baby-sized at all) with spinach, tomato, onion and jalapeno pimento cheese with a biscuit and asparagus as my side plus a cup of decaf Krankie’s coffee (Fair-Trade, Organic and so, so good). Aahhhhh-mazing.  Ben had scrambled eggs, bacon, a croissant, grits and a cup of regular Krankie’s coffee. Mary’s is one of those must visit places in Winston and every time we have friends or family come to town it’s one of our first stops.

What did everyone do this weekend? Any July 4th plans (we need some!)?

Well, I’m off to work out and go grocery shopping. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends as much as I did.

-BGD-