Spinach Artichoke Lasagna

Once you have all the ingredients for this delightful dish, it is actually very easy to throw together. It was a huge hit at my house with vegetarians and meat-lovers alike.

9-12 no-boil lasagna noodles
 2 Tbs olive oil
 1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
 1 c chopped onion
 2 Tbs minced garlic
 1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of all excess water
 3 cups ricotta cheese
 4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon dried oregano
 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
 2 eggs
 3 cups tomato pasta sauce (have two jars/cans on hand, amount is approximate)
 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Get out a 9X13 pan and spray with a little cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet. Add garlic and onions. Once tender, add the artichoke. Cook until the liquid has evaporated.

3. In a medium sized bowl combine the ricotta, eggs, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and the drained spinach using an electric hand mixer. Beat for about one minute. Then stir in the parmesan cheese.

4. On the bottom of your 9X13 pan, spread about 1/2 c of the pasta sauce. Then lay 3 lasagna noodles on top. Next spread 1/3 the cheese/spinach mixture over the noodles. Then layer 1/3 the onion/artichoke mixture. Sprinkle 1 c. mozzarella cheese, following 1 c. pasta sauce. Repeat layering 2 times. Top with remaining noodles, sauce, and generous amount of mozzarella cheese.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for about 10 minutes or until it looks bubbly and delicious. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Tomato Basil Pasta!- All the way from Italy!

Here is a recipe shared by a friend of a friend via the friend. Aka my super cool world traveling co-worker Liz. She spent the summer in Italy, so I think we can really trust her pasta cooking skills. This dish has some solid power house ingredients that really you can’t go wrong with. Plus, who isn’t in love with basil?

Tomato Basil Pasta

Total Prep Time: 15 min
Total Price: $5, but there was a lot left over ingredients that can be used again.

pasta of any variety
olive oil
a few leaves of fresh basil
cherry tomatoes
garlic

As you wait for the water to come to a boil, cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters, dice the garlic, and slice the basil leaves into strips. Once the water is boiling, put in your pasta. As the pasta cooks, simultaneously cook the other ingredients in a small frying pan with some olive oil. When the pasta is ready, use a slotted spoon to transfer it into the frying pan. Cook the pasta and the fresh ingredients together for a few minutes, as this will allow the pasta to better retain these flavors.

You can alter your ingredients from the classic tomato-basil combination as desired to use random vegetables that you may already have. Zucchini work well in this recipe and you could also add in onions or use different spices to suit your tastes.

*Liz is very, very cool. And it’s not just because she speaks Italian and had beautiful hair. She’s one of the nicest people I know too.

10 Minute Pasta- starring Sara W.

Today's guest chef comes to us from the exotic land of Paris, France. Ok she's really from Texas, but she has been to France. Sara is a former roommate of mine, who graciously used to cook for me all the time. Those were beautiful days. She is one of the inspirations for this blog, and therefore I thought it would be expedient for her to be a guest chef. So from Sara's kitchen to yours, I bring you 10 Minute Pasta! Super easy, and simple- I wonder why I never thought of it before! All I know is that Sara's cooking is spectacular enough to attract a genius pre-med husband, so there is certainly something to learn from Sara.

10 Minute Pasta

Total Cook/Prep Time: 10 min of course.

Total Cost: $3.01

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen raveoli

1 piece of baked chicken

1 can of tomato sauce

1/4 c. of Mozarella cheese

This recipe is as simple as it looks.  Cook the raveoli pasta for 10 minutes, while heating up the tomato sauce on the stove. Cube the baked chicken, and then mix it with the tomato sauce.  Drain the pasta, and top it with the tomato sauce and Mozarella cheese.  

*Note on the chicken: I like to use my George Foreman Grill for times like these, when I just need a little bit of chicken fast. Another idea might be to just bake a few chicken breasts at the start of every week, so you have them ready for meals and days when you're more busy.