Tortellini a la Florentine

Tonight I went through my recipe index and thought I would try a new one. We made a pasta dish that isn't one of my favorites. I don't know if I will make it again. It was good enough, and possibly I didn't like it because i was so hot and the food was hot, and I had to cook it. That right there is enough to ruin any good food. Jeffrey wasn't a huge fan because he had a horrid day at work and that right there is enough to spoil even the best food. He wasn't a fan of the wilted spinach but I liked it. At any rate, here it is...

Tortellini a la Florentine

What You Need:

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1/4 cup Chopped onion
1 tsp Chopped fresh garlic
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in mixed herbs
slat and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Bags fresh baby spinach
3/4- 1lb fresh or frozen cheese tortellini, freshly cooked and drained
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

What To Do:

In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until tender. Stir in the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the cream of mushroom soup and heat slowly. Remove and cover to keep warm.
In a large deep skillet, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the spinaceh in batches, and cook, tossing until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
Arrange the spinach and the tortellini on 4 heated plates. Coat with the mushroom sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

Buen Provecho!

Roasted Zucchini Sandwich = Yum!

Incredible! That is all I have to say. Tonight for dinner, I made something that Jeffrey fell in love with.

Last night my mother gave me 5 zucchini (oh the summer and the wonderful game of too much zucchini. The passing of the zucchini from person to person because everyone has way too much. What a great blessing it is) and told me I had to use it up fast because it was already a little old.

I was getting a little tired of my old recipes with zucchini, and let's be honest, my pregnant self can't handle it sauteed or fried at all, so I had to find another way too cook it (and I don't really feel like making zucchini bread) so... I was on the hunt.

And this morning, I found it. The perfect zucchini sandwich recipe ever made. It uses sprouts, tomato, cheese and zucchini which all make me happy (gotta love the veggies) and it has lots of bread, which makes Jeffrey very happy.

For dinner we had a butternut squash soup (which Keith couldn't get enough of... that is all he would eat), the zucchini sandwiches, and I wanted to have salad and watermelon, but Jeffrey said he was too full, and didn't want to cut the melon, so we are saving that for tomorrow.

I gotta say, this sandwich was exquisite (can you say that about a sandwich?)! I can't wait to try it again!

So, without further ado;

The Roasted Zucchini Sandwich

What You Need:

1/4 cup Olive oil
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
Dash salt and pepper
Mayonnaise/Dijon mustard (mixed together to make a sauce)
Alfalfa Sprouts
Fresh garden tomato slices
Smoked Gouda cheese slices

What To Do:

Slice zucchini diagonally into ¼” thick slices. Place on foil lined baking sheet. Brush both sides with a mixture of olive oil and spices including salt and pepper. Bake at 300° for about 12-15 minutes or until zucchini is tender. (Or these can be grilled outside on the barbecue...) Allow to cool to room temperature. On really good, soft bakery rolls, assemble the sandwiches.

Just a note, I was in a hurry when I made these and forgot to brush the zucchini with the olive oil spice mixture and it was still heaven in the mouth. I can only imagine how much better it would be with the mixture brushed over it. I am definitely going to have to try that next time!

Buen Provecho!

Berry Crisp

Remember how I was going to make the most perfect dinner ever for Jeffrey? Well, that was before he decided to surprise me with Cafe Rio and a movie, and then playing with Keith on the floor for about 15 minutes of pure laughter. I decided that we really need to up our fruit intake, so made a berry crisp. Now, I sort of made up my own recipe, and it was super runny, so the next time I make it, I may add some more corn starch, or maybe it will cool down and thicken up. We'll see. At any rate, it was delicious, and would taste even better with some cold ice cream. Yummy! Here is my recipe

*Source*

What You Need:

Filling:
3-4 cups of berries (I used strawberries, blackberries and raspberries)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 T cornstarch

Topping
3/4 cup butter (I actually used quite a bit less. You could probably get away with 1/2 cup or so)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal

What You Do:

Heat oven to 375*. Hull the strawberries, and set all berries aside.
mix sugar, cornstarch and water in a pan on medium heat, stirring constantly until it becomes clear. Add berries to mixture on stove, and coat them all. In a buttered 8 qt pan pour berry mixture. Set aside. In separate bowl mix sugars and butter until creamy. Slowly add flour. When that is all mixed in, add oatmeal. Once it comes to a crumb like consistency, spread by crumbling over berries. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
I didn't do this when I initially made it, but the next time I make this I will add some cinnamon to the flour mixture, and possibly a little vanilla.
Serve over ice cream. Devour hot or cold, it doesn't matter because it is divine!

Buen Provecho!

A Perfect Dinner

Did you know I adore my husband? Well, I do. He is simply grand! Since today is a special day for him, I thought I would make him his favorite food in the world. He is a blueberry fiend! I am not exaggerating on that, he would live on blueberries alone if he could. I think he would be happy to have Violet Beauregarde's fate he loves them so much. So, to honor this big bluberry lover I call my husband, I am going to make him a fresh blueberry pie (well, I am going to use some fresh and some frozen blueberries) and surprise him with it when he gets home from work. A blueberry pie and a fresh lasagna... could life get any better? I submit that it cannot! I may even throw a lemonaid in there to, just to finish things off. It will be a very special dinner for my studious Darling!

To start off with, we will have a delectable lasagna with a side of veggies (made last night).

Miracle Lasagna

What You Need:

1 jar prego spaghetti sauce )any flavor you prefer)
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

What To Do:

In a 2 qt baking dish, spread 1 cup sauce around to cover the bottom of the dish. Top the sauce with 3 uncooked noodles, ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Cover with 1 cup sauce. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Cover dish and bake at 375*F for 1 hour. After it is done baking, top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes.

*My lasagna will look a lot tastier than this... still having camera problems*

We will enjoy this dish and the veggies with a little garlic bread, and some sparkling lemonaid (or juice, whatever I can find). Then, on to the dessert!

Fresh Blueberry Pie
recipe found here

What You Need:

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
juice and grated zest from 1/2 medium lemon
5 cups fresh or frozen thawed blueberries, rinsed well
pastry for 2 crust pie
1 T butter, cut in small pieces

What To Do:

In a large bowl combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, lemon juice and grated rind, and blueberries. Roll out half of the pastry; line an 9-inch pie pan and trim edges. Pour berry mixture into pie crust and dot with small pieces of butter. Roll out remaining pastry to about 1/8 inch thick. Cover pie; trim, turn edge under and crimp. Cut a few vents in top of crust to allow steam to escape (didn’t think about it in time or I would have used one of my pie birds). Bake at 425° for 40 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned. For best slicing results, let the pie cool before slicing.

*This looks a lot better than my pie will because I don't know how to do the lattice crust.*

What a great way to end a long day of work, and to rev up the brain for all that studying that is
coming, don't you think? My sentiments exactly!

Buen Provecho!

Mixed Vegetables with Garlic and Herbs

Last night I made the Mixed Veggies with Garlic and Herbs... and I learned something about myself.

Pregnant body does NOT like sauteed veggies of any kind. I especially hate olive oil. So, that cuts down on a huge portion of our menu, but what can you do. Maybe once the baby is born I can try it again.

See note below next picture

Jeffrey, on the other hand loved it and would like me to make it again, so that is always a good sign. Again, I am not sure how it tasted, because after one bite my body yelled "No more unless you want us to reverse gears and send all the food you have ever eaten up." So I listened and ate no more. We also had some Bruschetta, which was delicious. I didn't have any mozzerella cheese, so I made it with cheddar, and it still tasted great nor did we have mushrooms. The great thing about Bruschetta is you can play around with it a lot and come up with many variations, so long as you have cheese, garlic, and tomatoes. Gotta love tomatoes this time of year. I can't wait for my tomato plant to start bearing some fruit so I can have a summer time tomato sandwich. Ahh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! In the meantime, enjoy this recipe as Jeffrey said it was great and a definite make again. I got this recipe off recipegirl.com

MIXED VEGETABLE SAUTE W/ HERBS & GARLIC

What you need:

3 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, then cut on diagonal into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 Tbs olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1½ Tbs chopped fresh tarragon
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
4 large red bell peppers, cut lengthwise into ½-inch-wide strips
4 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, then cut on diagonal into ½-inch slices
4 large yellow crookneck squash, halved lengthwise, then cut on diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices

What to do:

1. Cook carrot in pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, tarragon, and thyme; sauté about 30 seconds. Add carrots and remaining vegetables; sauté until just tender, tossing often, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Not actually what I made, but it looks very similar. This one I roasted on the grill, and had much the same reaction.

Servings: 8

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per ServingCalories 118
Calories From Fat (31%) 37
Total Fat 4.29g
Saturated Fat 0.64g
Sodium 53.13mg
Potassium 1118.94mg
Carbohydrates 19.20g
Dietary Fiber 6.04g
Sugar 10.28g
Net Carbohydrates 13.16g
Protein 5.15g

Weight Watchers points 3.5

Buen Provecho!