Artichoke, Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna

I woke up yesterday, yearning to make a meatless/veggie lasagna. I have no idea why this particular dish was pinpointed as the object of my affection, but knew I HAD to make it. I perused some of my saved recipes, and came across a few that looked delicious. So, I took one, altered it quite a bit and came up with this one, which I thought was amazingly scrumptious. I tried to be conscientious of the exact measurements I used… hopefully, that’s the case 😉

Ingredients

2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
9 no-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can vegetable broth
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 (14 oz.) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 (28 oz.) jar tomato pasta sauce
1 (15 oz.) container Ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (4 oz.) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Put butter or olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium-high.
Sauté onion, garlic and mushrooms for 5 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp.
Stir in broth, rosemary and basil, and bring to a boil.
Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.
Mix together, ricotta, egg, 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 cooked noodles.
Add some big dollops of the ricotta/mozzarella mixture (using half) on top of the noodles, then more of the sauce.
Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with sauce mixture and remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.
Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 10 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

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Cornish Game Hens

I decided to go a little non-traditional this Thanksgiving, and make cornish hens instead of turkey. I’ve never made them before, and am so glad I did… they were truly incredible. Seriously. I combined two recipes, one was for a turkey breast, and have to say, it’s a brilliant combo. I will tell you there are a lot of ingredients, but don’t shy away because of that… there’s a rub for the bird, in addition to what’s put in the cavity, so it’s really pretty straight forward. I’m giving you the recipe to make two hens, so if you just want to make one, simply divide everything in half.

Ingredients

For The Cavity

4 cloves garlic (2 for each hen) + 8 additional cloves garlic for arranging around hens
2 cinnamon sticks (1 per hen)
1 small onion, cut in half (1/2 onion per hen)
4 lemon wedges (2 per hen)
2 sprigs rosemary (1 per hen)

Herb Rub Mix

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tbsp. fresh sage, finely chopped
2 tbsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder

For Basting

1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Season hens with salt and pepper.
Stuff hens with cavity ingredients.
Generously rub herb mix all over hens and underneath skin.
Arrange 8 garlic cloves around hens in small roasting pan (you don’t need a rack).
Add some chicken broth to pan. I didn’t measure but made sure the bottom of pan was covered.
Roast in oven for 25 minutes.
Combine wine, chicken broth and olive oil in a bowl.
Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. and pour basting liquid over hens.
Baste every 10 minutes, and continue roasting for 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear.

* To make a gravy/sauce, transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a saucepan, and boil until liquid reduces to a sauce consistency, about 8 minutes.

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Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Herbs (and Mustard Cream Sauce)

I came across this recipe a while ago, and bookmarked it to try another time. I was at the store over the weekend, and saw a bag of pistachios, which immediately brought my memory back to this dish. However, I highly recommend you buy pistachios already shelled as it took me a bit of time to crack open each pistachio to get a cup worth’s of nuts. And that way… you won’t get disappointed when you come across those shells that are not cracked at all and can’t be opened. Another recommendation I have is to butterfly/split/cut the chicken breasts in half, or you could use chicken tenders. I find the chicken is more tender when they’re a little thinner, and quite frankly, I just prefer them that way. In a nutshell (no pun intended), I found the combination of the herb mustard mixture combined with the pistachio-panko crust was simply divine! Oh, and when paired with the mustard cream sauce… WOW!!!

Ingredients

1 cup shelled raw pistachios (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
4 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. light mayonnaise
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil (or 2 tsp. dried)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, butterflied
Mustard cream sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Finely grind nuts in processor. Add Panko and blend, using on/off turns.
Transfer to shallow baking dish or bowl.
Mix mustard, mayo, honey, basil, dill and rosemary in medium bowl.
Spread mustard mixture over both sides of each chicken breast.
Dip chicken breasts into nut mixture, coating completely. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Transfer chicken to baking sheet.
Bake chicken until cooked through, about 25 minutes.
Spoon Mustard-Cream Sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from Bon Appétit

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Italian Barbecued Chicken (with Polenta)

In my recent polenta post, I mentioned that I came across a BBQ chicken recipe from Rachael Ray which I intended on making soon, and decided to try it out last night. I made a few modifications like I normally do, and all I can say is… WOW! The sauce is truly delectable and really makes the dish. I took some to work today, and finished every single last bite! So if you like chicken, and want a delicious new way to make it, I highly suggest you try this recipe.

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken thigh and leg or chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 tsp. grill seasoning
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 thick cut slices pancetta or bacon, chopped (optional)
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
Torn fresh basil leaves
Polenta

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, and grill seasoning.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet and brown the chicken a few minutes on each side to put some of its flavor and drippings into the pan, then transfer to oven and roast 10 minutes more.
Meanwhile, if using pancetta or bacon, add to pan, and cook until crisp. Remove from pan, crumble and set aside.
If not using the meat, put one more tablespoon olive oil into pan, and add onions, garlic and rosemary. Cook 5 minutes, then add the vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, tomato sauce and 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth.
Reduce heat to low and let sauce simmer 5 minutes more.
Remove chicken from oven, place in barbecue sauce, add bacon or pancetta (if using) and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Fill shallow bowls with polenta, top with chicken, spoon extra sauce over chicken and garnish with some torn basil leaves.

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Steak Marinade

If you’re searching for an extremely tasty and easy marinade for your steak, look no further! A couple of weeks ago, I posted a recipe by Paula Deen for another marinade which is really good, but may just like this one a little bit more. I made this last week to use on some tri-tip and it was amazing, and just whipped up some more to marinate a Rib-Eye… can’t wait to cook it up for dinner!!

Ingredients

1/2 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or red wine)
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp. dried
1 tbsp. Dijon-style prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tbsp. brown sugar (optional)
2 (1 lb) steaks

Note: For my dinner tonight, I only had one rib-eye (approx. 1 lb.), so used about half of the marinade and froze the remaining to use another time.

Directions

Put all ingredients (except steaks) in a blender (or food processor), and blend until smooth.
Place steaks in a large, resealable plastic bag.
Pour marinade over steaks, seal and refrigerate for about 3 hours.
Take steaks out from fridge and let them come to room temperature (30 min-1 hr.) *
Remove steaks from bag, discarding remaining marinade.
Cook on a preheated grill brushed with oil on high, for about 7 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness is achieved, or place in a skillet, over medium-high heat for same amount of time as above. (I cooked my tri-tip on top of the stove).

* It is always best to cook meat from, or near, room temperature. This will help the meat cook consistently across the interior by reducing the amount of time that it takes to cook the meat. But… I have cooked them after just a few minutes of sitting out, and they’ve come out delicious.

Tri-tip steaks — Marinated tri-tip steaks

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