Low carb (but tasty, I swear) lasagna

So part of this ‘eating better, budgeting more, cleaning more, being an adult’ crap has included eating less carbs recently. Glorious, glorious carbs.

One thing that had been missing from our diet was Italian food, since there are so many carbs involved in delicious pasta. One night, when watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay, he was making (or the competitor was making? I don’t know. My mind doesn’t work) lasagna with zucchini as noodles.

Now lets pause a minute. You’re probably wondering, how can zucchini taste as good as noodles? But I swear, you really won’t miss it. And it’s fairly easy.

What you need: 3 large zucchinis, or 5 medium-sized zucchinis

2 jars chunky garden pasta sauce (or homemade pasta sauce if you’re a better person than me)

1 large container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 package 2% mozzarella cheese

1 package sliced mushrooms

1 onion, diced

Basil, oregano, rosemary, cracked pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste

1 pound ground turkey

2 tbsp EVOO

Peel zucchini, and slice zucchini length-wise into long, skinny (about pasta thickness) strips. (Reserve any remaining ends/green parts/bad cuts) Salt the zucchini strips and toss in strainer, let sit for 1 hour. Then rinse and pat dry.

Warm pan with EVOO, and fry ground turkey until cooked through. Place into bowl. In same pan (reserving some of the grease), stir diced onions and sliced mushrooms into pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, remove in same bowl as meat. Pour in 2 jars of spaghetti sauce, stir. Dice any remaining zucchini that is not in strips and mix with sauce. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano and rosemary to taste.

Mix container of ricotta with egg, garlic powder, and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg (sounds weird, but trust me, delicious). Mix 1/4 of package of shredded mozzarella in with cheese mixture.

Grease a 9X13 pan. Layer 1/3 of sauce/meat mixture across the bottom. Top with zucchini ‘noodles’. Spread with 1/2 ricotta mixture. Top with 1/3 sauce. Top with zucchini ‘noodles’, spread with 1/2 ricotta mixture, top with remaining sauce, then sprinkle remaining package of mozzarella on top.

 

Wrap with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees, then uncover and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand for 10-15 minutes then cut and serve.

 

A slightly healthier alternative

When in college at Pittsburg State University, we made at least weekly during the spring/summer/fall months to Tropical Sno to visit our friend Dave. And by our friend, I mean, Dave was the entire town’s friend. He was like the bartender who know’s everyone’s name, only instead of delicious alcoholic drinks Dave sold delectable frozen ice confections. It was a cheap treat and a cheap date night, walking over to Tropical Sno, and you were guaranteed to run into friends from school.

There were literally hundreds of flavor concoctions available, and everyone’s personal goal was to get a flavor named after them. My husband and I never made this dream come true, but we still enjoyed our cheap dates, chats with Dave, and the amazingly sweet, sour, cold, perfect summer treat. My favorite was called Coach T and was some mix of citrusy flavors. The key to the perfect snack there, though, was to pay the additional 50 cents to have your shaved ice swirled with real cream. It tasted just like homemade icecream and love. (For a few scant calories, ha)

It’s funny how foods and simple places can make you homesick for a town, or a period of life. Tropical Sno and Dave are one of those things. On a hot summer day, I miss the two minute walk from our apartments and the brief respite from studying with my eventual husband.

I was feeling nostalgic today and mixed up something that tasted delightfully reminiscent of our favorite summer treat. We happened to have some heavy, unwhipped whipping cream left over from making homemade whipped cream and strawberries for the 4th of July. This version is probably a bit healthier, so easy to make it doesn’t count as a recipe, and most importantly took me right back to college.

In blender, blend 1 cup of ice and 1 cup of Cranberry Raspberry juice cocktail. It will be slushier than tropical sno, but still plenty icy. Pour into large glass.

Pour two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream over top, mix. Devour.

Blackberry cherry pomegranate limeade

The biggest addiction we face in this house is soda. Sweet, sweet caffeinated, filled with chemicals soda. It’s an especially tough battle in the hot midwest summers when you just need to drink something constantly, and need a little variety.

One of the things I’ve learned about myself, in trying to conquer the addiction, is that the carbonation is just as addicting as the caffeine. Substituting something carbonated that’s better for me is an easy switch. And having something premade, right at hand when you come in from the garden, is the key.

Today I whipped this up, and it was so good I had to share:

1/3 can frozen concentrate Old Orchard cherry pomegranate juice

1 can frozen concentrate Minute Maid limeade

1.5 liters of club soda or sparkling water

1/2 liter Key Lime flavored sparkling water (sold at HyVee and WalMart)

2 tablespoons lemon juice concentrate

1/2 pint blackberries

Mix ingredients together in large pitcher and put in fridge to chill. Serve on ice with garnish of basil, mint, or lemon from the garden, if desired.

This makes a pretty tart drink but the cherry pomegranate juice sweetens it some. If you prefer a sweeter drink, you can add honey, sugar or more juice. It’s also still pretty concentrated flavor at this point, so feel free to add additional club soda to water down if you prefer milder flavors.

Also, this is served virgin style in our house but would be a fantastic mixed drink for a party with the addition of a cup or so of vodka, flavored or otherwise.

Enjoy!

California roll plate – otherwise known as sushi without the hard work

My husband and I looooove sushi. I mean, what’s not to like? Rice filled with delicous things you get to dip in soy sauce – yum. However, between our location and our lack of funding, it’s a rare treat for us. As the temperatures have been getting hotter, I have been searching for new recipes and have found one that will definitely be a regular.

Awhile back, we went to a 1/2 price appetizer happy hour at the Yard House at Legends. One of their appetizers is called a California Roll, but it is served on a plate instead of rolled traditional sushi style. Soooo much easier.

So we set about recreating this at our house. To my surprise, you can buy sushi rice at HyVee. Follow the directions printed on the package exactly, and you get perfect, restaurant quality sushi rice. 

What you will need:

To serve between 2-4 people (Depending on hunger)

1 cup dry sushi rice (about 1.5 cups cooked)

1 pound imitation crab

2 ounces cream cheese

1 tbsp Miracle Whip

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon soy sauce, + additional for dressing

1/8 teaspoon Siracha

1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 whole avocacdo

1 whole medium cucumber

2 stalks green onions

Cook 1 cup (dry measurement) of sushi rice, following directions on package. You should end up with a bit more than 1.5 cups cooked rice. Layer on the bottom of cold bowls (2-4, depending on size).

In large bowl, melt together 2 ounces cream cheese, 1 tablespoon Miracle Whip, 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/8 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon Siracha. Stir. Gently fold in 1 pound imitation crab (or real crab, if you’re feeling fancy :)), and chopped green onions. Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon seasame seeds. Layer mixture on top of rice in bowls.

Next, take 1 whole avocado and cut into segments. Arrange on top of crab mixture.

Cut cucumber (with seeds removed) into matchstick sized pieces. Arrange on top of avocado.

Garnish with a drizzle of soy sauce and serve. Delish, and takes 1/2 the time of regular sushi.

Carnitas recipe

I absolutely love almost any form of carnitas … or most any form of pork for that matter. What can I say, I am the daughter of two Iowans. 🙂

The absolute best way to cook carnitas is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 pork roast (about any size. We usually buy one that’s at least 4 pounds – the leftovers are so good)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 limes

1 bunch of cilantro

3 springs of green onions

2 tsps Sea salt

1 tbsp Sesame oil

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsps pepper

1/2 white or yellow onion, cut into pieces

Cut one pork roast into chunks (say about 2 inches by 1 inch). Do not trim away most of fat, as this is part of the cooking process. Marinate for at least 4 hours in a large ziplock bag. For marinade: combine oil, the juice of two limes (save the rind of 1/2 lime), garlic powder and minced garlic, salt, pepper, 1/2 bunch of cilantro roughly chopped, and chopped green onions and pour into bag, shaking to ensure pork has been covered.

Fill stock pot about 1/2 full of water, throw in pork and marinade. Throw in rind of 1/2 lime, chopped onions, and remaining cilantro. Put stock pot on boiler, on high heat, and bring to boil. Turn down heat to medium, turn on fan on range hood, and let cook uncovered for about 2 hours. Water should evaporate, leaving only the melted pork fat at the end to cook the pork in. Before serving, remove any remaining fat on the pork. Cooked pork will be sinfully delicious and melt in the mouth.

You can serve any way you like, but our favorite way is on warmed tortillas with fresh cilantro lime rice, sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa and pico de gallo.

Apple cinnamon raisin French toast casserole

Brunch is quickly becoming one of my new favorite meals to make, and this is the perfect recipe for it. It is based off this recipe, with a few tweaks.

Ingredients:

1.5 sticks of butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups milk

6 eggs

1 loaf cinnamon bread (I used Pepperidge Farms)

2 cups raisins

2 large granny smith apples cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Melt butter, and mix in brown sugar, raisins, apples and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Layer on the bottom of greased 9X13 pan.

Cut loaf of bread into small (approximately 1/2 inch X 1/2 inch) pieces, and layer on top of fruit mixture.

Whip eggs, remaining cinnamon and milk in a separate bowl until well mixed. Pour on top of bread, ensuring all pieces are moistened. This may require you to press down some bread.

Cover, and place in fridge overnight. In the morning (or evening – breakfast foods shouldn’t be kept only for morning :)), place in oven and bake at 375 degrees, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with butter and syrup. And some sliced strawberries or other fruit. You know, to balance out the 1.5 sticks of butter.

Easy leftover recipe

There are a few things in life I am incapable of making anything but a huge amount of. Soup. Pasta. Mashed potatoes.

So yesterday, I stared at a large amount of mashed potatoes, and wondered what to do with them. Then, of course – Shepherd’s Pie!

This is easy, cheap, and if you cook a lot, you probably already have the ingredients in your freezer/fridge.

I made this in a bread pan since there are only two of us, and we didn’t need even more leftovers. But you can just increase the amount to any size.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

About 4 cups of mashed potatoes

2 sprigs green onions

4 uncooked Grands biscuits

1 cup shredded cheddar

2 leftover cooked burgers, or about 1/4-1/2 pound of meat

1 cup whole mushrooms

Use 1 tbsp butter to heavily grease pan. Spread mashed potatoes to fill 1/2 the pan. Add 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top. Layer mushrooms and green onions on top of this (cut up mushrooms into pieces first). Layer meat on top of this. (We had 2 leftover bison burgers, and I laid these on top uncooked. However, you could layer crumbled up cooked burgers, or ground beef, turkey, chicken … anything you have in your fridge) Flatten biscuits and spread on top. (It took 4 for me, but if you are using a larger pan it will take more) Cover as much of the top as possible. Break up remaining tablespoon of butter into small pieces, and lay on top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees until top is golden brown. If you used precooked meat, the casserole will probably be done in about 20-25 minutes. If you use raw meat, it will take up to 45 minutes.

Buttercream frosting = nectar of the gods

Sorry my posting has been so recipe heavy recently. Between long hours at work, and Matt working extra hard, crazy long hours at homework leaving me to take care of all house things … the energy for sewing just hasn’t returned. It will eventually.

The one thing that energy remains for? Chocolate kahlua buttercream frosting. Because it’s made of chocolate … and butter … and sugar. And there’s always energy for that.

I don’t follow the recipe for buttercream that’s on the back of powdered sugar. It’s too heavy on the powdered sugar/milk, too light on the butter. I like the frosting to be thick, and so rich that even a small brownie is totally satisfying.

Recipe:

1 bag of powdered sugar

1.5 sticks of butter (told you :))

6 tablespoons Kahlua

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup cocoa

Beat with mixers until frosting is smooth, thick and whipped. Add more or less milk to reach your desired consistency.

Spread on cake, brownies, cookies, graham crackers … or fingers. It’s that good.

Turkey, apple, mushroom cheddar meatballs

Want a delicious, flexible, relatively  healthy version of meatballs? Try these tasty morsels.

What you need:
1 pound ground turkey
1 green apple
3 sprigs green onions
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
6 large, whole mushrooms
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp fresh cracked Pepper
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup Sour cream onion crackers
2 eggs

In large bowl, mix chopped mushrooms, diced green onions, diced green apple, crushed crackers, and all remaining ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap, chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Line two 9X13 cake pans with aluminium foil, spray with cooking spray. Form large meatballs – should be between the size of a golf ball and tennis ball. Mixture should be enough to make 24 meatballs.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook for 25-30 minutes, or until meatballs are turning brown and cooked all the way through.

We ate ours with homemade barbecue sauce one night. Leftovers were used in baked pasta for one meal, and wrapped into biscuit dough with some cheese another night. Yum.

Homemade focaccia recipe

The crafting posts will return at some point soon, but I’ve been on a bit of a cooking kick recently. And anything made from scratch qualifies for this blog, so enjoy the food posts for a bit. 🙂

What you will need:

2.5 – 3 cups flour
1 package active yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup very warm water
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 sprig green onion from garden

Mix one cup flour, sugar, salt, garlic powder and yeast in a bowl. Add olive oil and cup of very warm water. Mix with electric mixer for 2-5 minutes. Stir in additional flour (1.5-2 cups) until dough forms and leaves the side of the bowl

On lightly floured surface, knead dough for 6-8 minutes, until dough is elastic. Grease bowl with olive oil, and put dough in bowl. Turn so that all sides of the dough are greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until dough has doubled in size  – about 1 hour.

Gently push dough – if indentation remains, dough is ready. Divide into two, and place on lightly greased pizza pans or cookie sheets. Stretch dough to desired shape, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic wrap. Brush dough with olive oil, and then sprinkle with grated cheese. Cut green onion into small pieces and sprinkle on top of dough.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Variations: You can put any yummy toppings on this bread. It would be perfect for some fresh herbs from the garden – think basil, rosemary, thyme, dill, oregano – anything. Carmelized onions or fresh tomatoes would also be delicious.