EASY Yummy Veggie Lasagna

Pasta, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

Here is another vegetarian meal brought to you by my farmer’s market veggies. I made a huge pan, knowing full well that I am the only one eating it. Whatever is leftover in a few days will go straight to the freezer for future consumption.

This lasagna was super easy to make. Store bought sauce, pre-shredded cheese, no boil pasta, and lots of sliced veggies. I threw this together in less than 10 minutes, baked for about 45 minutes until the cheese on top was bubbling and starting to turn brown. The end product was super cheesy yet still light and full of summer flavors! You can mix and match your sauce and veggies and even add in ground meat if you want to make it non-vegetarian. Or serve it as a veggie side pasta to some chicken parm etc.

EASY Yummy Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients
jarred sauce- I used a mixture of alfredo and vodka sauce. I find that for lasagna 1 container of thick sauce is never enough, so I experimented with 1 regular sized Vodka Sauce and 1 small jar of light mushroom alfredo sauce. Perfect amount! I love making different homemade pasta sauces, but I love the convenience and ease of a jarred sauce. I try to keep a couple in my pantry for quick dinners.

1 small bunch of kale, chopped- just the leaves- the ribs and stems are too fibrous to chew-
1 large or 2 small summer squash, sliced
2-3 summer tomatoes- I used one large yellow and 1 small red
1 package of no cook lasagna
1 pound of shredded mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350
Spray large oven safe casserole dish
put a bit of sauce spread on the bottom
add kale, then some cheese, then pasta, add sauce
add squash, then some cheese,then pasta, add sauce
add tomatoes, then some cheese, then pasta, add sauce

Bake for 45 min-1 hour until cheese is bubbly and brown. That combo of the mushroom alfredo and vodka sauce is unbelievable. It is rich and creamy, yet somehow still manages to feel light and delicate. It pairs perfectly with the veggies, which just kind of melt into the pasta and sauce. This is an awesome recipe to use some pretty amazing farmer’s market ingredients. I hope you give it a try!

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Girls Night In- Part 2: Mama

Cheese

So I love beanie weenies as much as the next grown-up. Yeah, well, I can fake it if I have to, but I don’t. I took a tortilla chip to the rest of the cheese sauce. https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/07/13/girls-night-in-part-1-kids/

So yummy, but it needs some spice. I had a plan. I added a chopped jalapeno with the seeds and a few shakes of the hot sauce with the wooden top. You know the one? I could eat hot sauce sprinkled on most foods. Cholula is AMAZING!

This picture cannot give my cheese sauce the proper justice. The sauce was creamy and rich with a ton of spicy flavor. All I did was add the jalapeno, a few dashes of Cholula, and a few dashes of pepper.
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I don’t have a picture of a final dish. Imagine yourself dipping crispy tortilla chips in the yummiest spicy queso that you can. I wouldn’t even put it past us to be drinking a nice cold margarita, chilled white wine, or a favorite cold draft/bottle beer. Cheers to all us grown up girls!

Girls Night In- Part 1: Kids

Girls' Night Out/In, Pasta

So hubby is out tonight and it is just us girls. They were playing and all of a sudden wanted dinner. Really? It is only 4:00 and you just ate at 2:00. I had planned on hot dogs and baked beans anyway, so I decided that it was fine if they were hungry. I looked in the cabinet for a starch. Tons of pastas, 1 boxed mac and cheese, and potatoes on the counter. Hmmmm…. Look in the fridge. A whole container of shredded cheddar. Eureka! I’m making a homemade cheese sauce for quick homemade mac and cheese. The girls wanted no part of having a bun, so I introduced them to beanie weenies.

Beanie Weenies are easy. All you have to do is cut up your favorite hot dog (I used Applegate brand) and mixed them with baked beans. I always keep a can of baked beans in my cabinet. It is a great pantry staple.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

I took 1/2 a container of bowtie pasta (use what you have) and cooked it al dente.

This sauce starts with a classic bechamel sauce

Bechamel Sauce (I got from Mario Batali)
Ingredients
5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Put your velvety bechamel sauce back on medium heat. Stir in 1 pound of shredded cheese- I 3/4 sharp cheddar and 1/4 parmesan. Use what you like or have in the fridge. Whisk well.

I added a few spoonfuls to my pasta. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water if needed to thin out the sauce.

Home run dinner.

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Veggie Pesto Pasta

Pasta, Vegetarian

Hey guys! Hope you are having a great weekend! Yesterday I went veggie crazy at the farmer’s market, per usual. I concocted this veggie pesto pasta using all my farm fresh ingredients. You could throw in some grilled chicken or sauteed shrimp in at the end. Pasta Perfection!

Veggie Pesto Pasta

Pesto- There is nothing like a summer fresh homemade pesto! Original pesto has basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan mixed with olive oil. I like to play around with my pesto, so here is how I made it this time.

In my food processor, I mixed together the following things…
2 cups packed greens- 2 good handfuls of mixed greens I got from the market; spinach, arugula, romaine, and kale.
3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Veggie Pasta

I sauteed a chopped onion, a handful of cherry tomatoes, 1 sliced squash, sliced sweet peppers (1/3 each of red,yellow,green), and 1 sliced jalapeno. I added 1/2 box of bow tie pasta (use whatever kind of pasta you have/like) to the veggies. Save some pasta water. Add a few tablespoons of your pesto. Add in a bit of pasta water. Mix well.

With all those beautiful colors and flavors, this pasta looks and tastes just like summer!

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Oven Baked Tilapia

Seafood, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Happy Thursday my fellow food fanatics! Thanks for supporting me in my culinary adventures in the kitchen. Here is another food win… oven baked tilapia. This fish turns out moist and flaky and has a delicious crunchy parmesan coating that my family loves.

Oven Baked Tilapia

Ingredients

3 large tilapia fillets- almost 1 pound. On sale, it cost less than $6.
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 cups breadcrumbs (plain or Italian will do fine)
1 tablespoon paprika
3 tablespoons parmesan
1 teaspoon each of onion and garlic powder
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450

Set up your 2 stations…
Station 1- milk and egg mixed together
Station 2- breadcrumbs, paprika, parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Take your fish and dunk in station 1 on both sides well. Then dunk in station 2. Add each piece to a oven safe dish that has been coated with your favorite cooking spray.

Cook for about 12 \minutes- 6 minutes on each side; flip halfway through. This all depends on the thickness of your fish.

I served with pan roasted brown butter squash (brown 3 tablespoons of butter and add squash with salt and pepper), spicy sauteed spinach (bunch of spinach sauteed in olive oil, a tablespoon of both butter and marscapone, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper), and couscous cooked in chicken stock.

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