Spinach Kugel

Spinach Kugel

4 eggs, well beaten
1 lb. spinach
1 lb. whole wheat egg noodles
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix*
1/4 lb butter (1 stick, 1/2 cup)
1 c milk

Cook the egg noodles.

Cook the spinach if using fresh spinach; defrost and dewater the spinach if using frozen spinach.

Blend eggs, onion soup mix, non-dairy creamer, and margarine (you can use your blender).  

Pour onto hot noodles, mixing well.  Add spinach.  Mix well.  

Pour into a baking pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

*I've been trying out substitute recipes for Lipton's onion mix but they have yet to measure up.

This is one of my dogs; his name is Kugel.
He is eating kugel! 

Lentils & Rice

Pictured with a little bit of aged provolone melted on top.

This is a family food I my mom used to make.  1 part cooked rice, 1 part cooked lentils, and LOTS of onions, all mixed together.  Sweat or caramelize the onions (for at MINIMUM 10 minutes) depending on your preference.  Mix at least half of the onions in with the lentils and rice but reserve some of the cooked onions for putting on top of the lentils and rice when you serve it.

Feel free to keep as bland as you like or spice as much as you want!  Cooking the rice and lentils in stock will add flavor, and other good things to add include salt, pepper, chili, cumin, garlic, paprika, parsley, etc.  I squeezed some lemon juice and mixed it in.  Any rice or lentil will work or even a mixture (For the lentils and rice above, I used three different lentils and used up three different rices that were all quite low).

I was bored of the leftovers so I added ketchup and some soy sauce and then baked it into a lentil loaf.  Serve with ketchup on top!

A "Lentil Loaf" sandwich

Ricotta Gnocchi with Beef Tomato Sauce

Sauce:  Onion, garlic, sage, ground beef, peas, crushed tomatoes, vegetable bouillon paste, agave syrup, fresh basil

Gnocchi:  This gnocchi recipe is from one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia - Mercato.  They have a delicious short rib ragu with ricotta gnocchi, broccoli rabe, and shaved locatelli.  A good combination I've done at home but braised short rib gives the meal a different flavor and takes many hours to cook.

Mercato posted their gnocchi recipe here.  I have also included it below.  I used whole wheat flour but otherwise followed the recipe.

1 pound low-moisture Ricotta cheese (note: the stuff in the tub, NOT ricotta salata)
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup fine ground parmesan cheese
1 - 2 cups flour

Mix all ingredients together well except flour.  Gradually add in flour in increments until you have reached a dough that can be rolled but it still delicate and soft.

To form the gnocchi, flour work surface, roll out a quarter cup of dough at a time into long thin lines.  Cut with a knife into 1 inch long pieces.  Indent each with a fork to help catch sauce.  (Or if you are not as concerned with appearance, you can just roll them up and pull them apart).

Drop into boiling water, gnocchis are ready when they float to the top of the water.

Strain and serve.  (A helpful time to have a spider/skimmer)

Baked Taquitos

Baked Beef Taquitos

This recipe was based largely on a recipe I found here:
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos.html

Essentially I put a dollop of filling in tortillas, rolled them up, and baked them on parchment paper in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes when they were well browned on the edges.  They stayed together nicely when I took them out.

Filling:
1)  Ground beef (sauteed with green onions and Nuevo Cocina taco seasoning that has raisins and olives in it)
2)  A mixture of Neufchatel cheese, salsa, olive slices, freshly squeezed lime juice, cumin, chili, onion, garlic, and cilantro.
3)  A bit of grated cheese - I used raw smoked goat cheddar cheese.

To serve:
1)  I served them with fresh avocado.
2)  For a dipping/drizzling sauce, a combo of salsa and ranch dressing.

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

Italicized ingredients are not optional
1.  Cook noodles
2.  Cook ground beef or other protein with onions and garlic.  Cook broccoli florets.
3.  Mix beef and broccoli with ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, tomato sauce, peas, kalamata olives, parsley.  Mix with the pasta.
4.  Grate cheese - I used mozzarella, cheddar, and jack.
5.  Layer noodle mixture and cheese, with cheese on top, and bake in the oven.

The second photo was of the leftovers.  I froze the remaining ziti.  After defrosting it, I mixed in quartered turkey meatballs and more tomato sauce and then topped it with grated smoked cheddar cheese before rebaking the ziti.

Pizza

I made pizza using Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough.  Anyone else have any favorite whole grain pizza doughs (pre-made or simple recipes)?

This particular pizza has tomato sauce, spinach, kalamata olives, red pepper, Applegate pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, smoked cheddar cheese, and feta cheese.