Savory Lasagne

A few months ago at a work function, there was a potluck lunch (how much do I love those!!!??) and someone had brought a squash lasagne.  It was so tasty and savory, filled with fresh thyme and sage, and I have not been able to get it off my mind.  Only one cure for that....had to make it!  Tonight was that night (and also I had some squash that I had to use up).

Savory Squash Lasagne

But because it was Monday, it was also "super-mom-night" (really, that is every night!) as I had less than an hour to clean up, get dinner going and take my daughter to piano lessons.   Armed with only the ingredients I felt were necessary (mozza, ricotta, squash, thyme, garlic and noodles) and my common sense (i.e., no recipe), I psyched myself up get it done.  But because I always bite off more than I can chew, I also decided to make a traditional lasagne as well (I did have some homemade spaghetti sauce in my freezer...so should be easy to throw that together, right??).  First step, defrost the spaghetti sauce.  Done.  With the noodles boiling, I then cut the squash into quarters, and decided that as time was a factor, I would nuke them too.   It took almost 15 - 20 minutes in the microwave, and just they were done, the microwave shut down.  Whatever. Carry on!   4:45...gotta leave by 5:15!  Noodles done and cheese grated.  Next, I scooped out the squash and mashed it up a little. I decided to saute it with a bit of grapeseed oil and fresh garlic and thyme.  4:55...tick tock, tick tock! Kitchen is a disaster, but gosh darnit I will have dinner ready before piano!   Ok..no time to fuss any more, time to layer it up.   A bit of squash on the bottom with some water mixed in, and then the layers...squash, ricotta, mozza, noodles....squash, ricotta, mozza, noodles.....and the finishing touch....a bit more mozza.  5:15...time to go, but not before slapping together the trad-lasagne...easy breezy, layer sauce, cheese, noodles....I could do this in my sleep!  Done...5:20....in the oven and out the door!

End result?  A delicious lasagne that was sweet and savory and extremely delicious!   And dinner was ready by the time we got home from piano!!  An awesome "Meatless Monday" meal (with a traditional lasagne on the side)...and dinner is all ready for tomorrow!  Leftover Tuesday!  Love it!


****************************************

Savory Lasagne

2 acorn squash
fresh garlic
fresh thyme
fresh sage (optional)
ricotta (maybe 1 cup?)
shredded mozza (1 - 2 cups)
9 cooked lasagne noodles

1. Boil noodles, and set aside
2.  Prepare squash.  Can quarter them and nuke them if you are in a rush, but if you have time, roasting them in the oven would probably be better.  Can roast with some savory herbs and a bit of olive oil and garlic.
3.  Scoop out squash once softened and mash but not puree.
4.  Saute squash with a bit of grapeseed oil and add in some fresh garlic and thyme (and sage if you have any)
5. Once done, begin layering, with the first layer being a bit of squash mixed with water to cover the bottom of the pan.  Layer noodles, then squash, ricotta and mozza.  Continue to layer, ending with noodles and shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes.

Easy Quinoa Salad

Some roasted chicken (top left); Quinoa salad (top right)
and leftover oven roasted beets and sauteed beet greens.

I love quinoa (pronounced keen-wa).  It is grain-like, and is highly nutritious, is gluten free, and is a good source of iron, protein and dietary fibre.  It is a great alternative to rice or pasta, and is excellent in salads, or as side dish to any meal.

I tried the recipe on the back of the "TruRoots" brand of quinoa at Costco, and it was delicious, and tasted even better the next day.  It made an excellent leftovers-lunch combined with my extra roasted chicken.  Yum!

True Roots Quinoa...available at Costco!
Link for "True Roots" products is below!

TruRoots Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa (I cooked 1 cup, so it ended up being about 2 cups of cooked...not sure if this was right, but its what I did!)  Take 1 cup raw quinoa and put in pot with 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil, and then simmer on medium low, covered for 15 minutes.  You'll know its ready when the seeds are a bit translucent.  Once ready, fluff with a fork and let cool.

Salad fixin's:  1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup of coursely chopped pecans (I added more than this, as I love pecans in any type of salad).  I wonder if raisins and/or currents could also work in this recipe?  Will have to try that next time!

Salad dressing:  6 TBSP orange juice, 1 TBSP olive oil, zest of one orange, dash of salt (optional...I never put this in) and fresh thyme leaves.

Throw it all together, and enjoy!


http://truroots.com/products/truroots-single-grains/organic-quinoa/

Good Friday Meal

Got this recipe from my mother-in-law, and it is a traditional dish that she makes for Good Friday. In one of my previous posts ("Weight a Minute!") I talked about how I have been trying to avoid white carbs...ironically, this dish that I made on Good Friday was ALL white, and ALL carbs...but man was it delicious. Everything in moderation, and this dish is a great one for Good Friday. It is called Gnabe. They are little button-sized dumplings that you boil first, and then pan fry them with butter and cooked potatoes. You can serve it with either scrambled egg mixed in, or fry up some sauerkraut with it. Yum!

Gnabe

1 cup of flour

1 egg

pinch of salt

1 medium diced potato

*Note that for our family of 4 (2 kids, 2 adults) I tripled the recipe and we hardly had any left! Guess we were in carb-loading mood!

In a medium bowl combine flour, egg and salt. Add some water to slowly and knead into a hard dough. Break off into button-sized pieces. Boil for 5 minutes and set aside. Boil potato separately and sent aside. When ready to serve, fry up half of the boiled gnabe with butter, half of the potato and some egg (I used 3 eggs and cracked them right into the frying pan with the gnabe). Fry the other half of the gnabe with the rest of the potato with some sauerkraut. Serve with Cheese Whiz (I know, really???) or plain yogurt or sour cream. Then, work your ass off the next day for your workout. High carbs, but totally worth it.

Let's Go Meatless!

Tried a new recipe tonight that I got from a friend of mine. I substituted lots because I didn't have all the ingredients (really just too lazy to go to the store), but it was tres yum! Here is the original recipe, and my substitutions. There are no amounts in this recipe...just gotta feel your way through it, and it'll turn out GREAT!

Ingredients and substitutions:

• Brown Fried Rice (I used Quinoa today)
• cook the rice (or quinoa) and set aside
• toast some almonds (i used some raw almonds and some raw cashews)
• Cut up apple (I used pear today, had no apple)
• Minced garlic and ginger
• soy sauce, sambel (optional), sesame oil (I also used the thick Indonesian soy sauce too)

When rice (quinoa) is done, set aside. Lightly cook your garlic and ginger in a wok with a bit of olive oil. Now add the rice (quinoa) and whatever sauces you are using....a bit of soy, a bit of sambel, a bit of sesame oil and some of that thick Indonesian soy sauce. I don't usually measure if I am cooking, so it was a bit of this, and a bit of that. Once the sauces are added, and to your liking, add the pear, toasted nuts...and voila! A delicious meatless meal and tastes great the next day for lunch!