Veggie Lasagna with Cream Sauce

This turned out MUCH better than previous veggie lasagnas!!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
12 lasagna noodles
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1, 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
16 oz ricotta
2 eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 - 2 tablespoons light Olive oil
8 ounces sliced or chopped mushrooms
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped bell peppers
2 cups broccoli florets


Technique:
Preheat oven at 350.

For the white sauce:
Use a 1 quart saucepan to melt the butter with a low heat.
Stir in the flour and salt.
Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly.
Remove from heat and stir in the milk.
Heat to boiling. Boil and stir 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Cover and keep warm.

For the filling:
Combine spinach, cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese,
basil, oregano, garlic powder and pepper together in a bowl
and set aside.

For the vegetables:
Cook the mushrooms, carrots, onions, bell peppers, and broccoli in a
frying pan with a little Olive oil until soft and tender. Set aside.

To assemble lasagna:
Place 4 noodles in the bottom of the pan.
Top with half of the cheese filling, 1 cup of the Mozzarella
cheese and then 4 more noodles.
Spread cooked vegetables on top of the noodles.
Then pour and spread half of the white sauce over top of the
vegetables. Place the remaining noodles over that.
Then spread the remaining cheese mixture on top of the noodles.
Sprinkle with the other 1 cup Mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Let stand 10 minutes before cutting to set.
Buon appetito!


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Grilled Pineapple and Pork Kabobs

This came out citrusy and juicy!

Ingredients:

1 cup pineapple juice 
Juice of 3 limes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds cubed boneless pork loin
One 3 3/4- to 4 1/4 pound fresh pineapple

Technique:
In a large bowl, mix together the pineapple juice, lime juice, and olive oil.  Add the pork, toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 and up to 12 hours, stirring several times during soaking.  Trim the leaves off the pineapple. Hold the pineapple upright on a cutting board and slice the skin off the fruit. Slice the peeled fruit in half and cut out the core. Cut the fruit into 1 1/2 to 2 inch chunks. You will have about 4 cups of cubes, or about 18 cubes.  First cover the grill rack with aluminum foil to prevent sticking. Thread the pork and pineapple chunks on six 12-inch skewers, beginning and ending with chunks of pork.  Grill for 12 to 15 minutes, turning several times.




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Pasta Primavera

This is one of my dinner stand-bys.  My wonderful and talented mother-in-law made it for me after I had baby #1 (or was it #2...hmmm!)

Adapted from: Giada De Laurentiis


Ingredients

3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
1 pound farfalle (or choo-choo wheels if  you have toddlers)
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Technique

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat.  Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes.  Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.  Buon appetito!


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