Monday, February 13, 2012

Mushroom Lasagna: Beautiful, Light, and Delicious

Mushroom Lasagna made with fresh pasta, layers of ricotta cheese, spinach and mushrooms.

Ingredients:

1 Jar of Tomato Sauce
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
1 Can of Chicken Stock
1 tbs basil
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs parsley
1 package of fresh lasagna
2 tubs of ricotta cheese
1 package of baby spinach
1 lbs of mushrooms
1 cup of marble cheese
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions:

1. Combine the can of tomatoes, can of chicken stock, and jar or ready made sauce together. Add the parsley, oregano, and basil. It should look like soup. This way the pasta will be nice and soft.

2. Lightly fry the spinach and combine it with the ricotta cheese. Add 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese and mix well.

3. Wash the mushrooms (I know, you were always told to pat dry but in this case more water is better) and slice thinly.

4. Fry the mushrooms and set aside.

5. Place some tomato sauce on the bottom of a glass dish. Add layer after lawyer of pasta, ricotta cheese mix, and mushrooms until you reach the top. Cover with cheese and tomato sauce and bake at 350F for 30 min with bubble of tinfoil. Remove the tinfoil and bake for an additional 10 min. Then take it out and let it rest for 5 min.

6. Plate and serve.









Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sexy Mussels!

 
 Perfect mussels and clams every time! 

Ingredients:

2 lbs Mussels
2 lbs Clams
1 cup butter
1 cup white wine
1 tbs parsley
5 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 onion

Cooking Instructions:



 1. Chop and onion and garlic and fry it in olive oil.

2. Wash the mussels and clams carefully. Throw away any broken or opened shells. If they are not alive do not eat them. You will get sick!


 

3. Once the onions are slightly cooked add your mussels, clams, white wine, and herbs.Add 1 cup of butter and cover the lid for 8 min or until all the shells have opened.

4. It is really important to cover with a lid because by doing this you are steaming them open.


5. Serve in a giant bowl with lots of crusty bread to soak up the sauce. Do not eat any of the mussels or clams that did not open. This means they are dead. Enjoy!












Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Easy to Make Stuffed Pasta Shells

Stuffed pasta shells are beautiful, easy, and impressive. Make this dish when you have time to cook.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1 can ready made pasta sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tea spoon dry parsley
1 tea spoon basil
1 tea spoon oregano

Cheese Mix:
1 tub ricotta cheese
1 cup grated marble cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups spinach

Pasta:
1 Box extra large pasta shells
1 tbs of olive oil
salt

Cooking Instructions:

1. Make a simply pasta sauce: I make mine with one can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of ready made sauce, 1 teaspoon of oregano, parsley, and basil. Boil it together in a pan for 5 - 10 min on medium heat.

2. Cut up some spinach into fine pieces. This will be added to your cheese mixture. This will give it colour and taste.

3. Fry the spinach in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. This will bring out its flavour.

4. Combine the spinach with 1 tub of ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, and some salt and pepper.

5. Mix the ricotta cheese mixture

6. While you are doing all this mixing and frying, boil a pot of water and add one box of extra large pasta shells. Make sure you add some olive oil and salt to your boiling water before you add the pasta. When they are cooked al denta, take them out, rinse in cold water and begin to stuff.

7. Use a tea spoon and place some of the cheese mix into each shell until they are full.

8. Add a layer of sauce to a baking pan and place the stuffed shells in the pan.

9. Top up with sauce and add a layer of grated marble cheese. (much better than mozzarella)

10. Bake at 400 F for 30 min and then let it rest for 5 min.

11. Plate and Serve. Enjoy!