"Italian" Macaroni and Cheese

Thank you for the e-mails concerning my status and I can assure you I am alive and marginally well.  I did have my doubts though and was so concerned this morning when I drifted into consciousness I asked Hot Dog Dude if he could place a mirror in front of my mouth just to be sure.

He wasn't in the mood to humor me, like I was totally in the mood to humor him today when he requested I redo the same invoices I've done three times in a row now. Oh how far we fall some days.  Some days just call for comfort in the way of a hot cheesy, casserole.

Italian Macaroni and Cheese (For the record there is absolutely nothing Italian about this, but my cousin calls it that and I think that is sweet.)

1 pound dried rigatoni noodles

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 cups milk

8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut in thin slices

Salt

Pepper

Pinch ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place a large pot of water on to boil and add a few teaspoons salt, once it's boiling vigorously add the rigatoni noodles.  Cook about 10 minutes or until al dente.

Place the butter in a medium saucepan and turn on medium heat and let the butter melt.  Add the flour and whisk until smooth, cook one minute and add the milk, a little salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.  Simmer on low heat until ready to assemble the casserole. 

Drain the noodles.  Spray a casserole dish about an 11" x 13" sized one with no-stick spray and place half of the noodles on the bottom.  Add half of the cheese slices over that, sprinkle with a little S&P and pour half of the milk mixture over that.  Add the other half of the noodles, other half of the cheese, and the rest of the milk.  

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the tops of the noodles are getting brown and crispy.

Enjoy,

Gina



Carrot, Honey, Flaxseed Muffins and back-to-school lunches

Some things in life are non-negotiable, yet tricky for instance lunch.  When I was in High School lunch was an afterthought, perhaps a sugary soda or candy bar to hold me over till I got home and was able to eat some real food.  My mom would be embarrassed to know this because she was a healthy food promoter before it became trendy so let's just keep this info our little secret.  It's not that I didn't want to have a good lunch it's just I didn't like the options and eating in the cafeteria lost its charm back in the 3rd grade.

I started class again with my Aunt and it was non-negotiable that I have a good lunch to hold me over till I got home in the evening because at my age living on candy bars and soda is kind of sad since I do know better by now.  New binder filled with paper, pencils sharpened ready to go, and all I needed was a healthy lunch that would help me be a little better student.  Oh that and my reading glasses, hmm that's weird I don't remember having to pack those back in High School. 

Muffins seemed somehow non-negotiable and necessary to add to the lunch box.  Necessary for the muffins were a touch of sweetness and a hint of spice. 

Carrot, Honey, Flaxseed Muffins 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats 

3 tablespoons whole raw flaxseeds 

1 cup grated carrots 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

2 large eggs 

1 cup milk 

1/2 cup honey 

1/2 cup coconut oil or vegetable oil 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine in large bowl all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour (if you don't have whole-wheat you could substitute all-purpose flour), oats, flaxseeds, carrots, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.  Stir to combine. 

Add eggs, milk, honey, and coconut oil and stir until combined. 

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners and fill each muffin to almost the top. 

Bake for 20-23 minutes. 

Makes 12 muffins.

*These muffins were so tasty Hot Dog Dude and I decided they were too good to go to waste and ate the remainder of them.  I love the flaxseeds but my daughter thinks they are gross.  Then again she thinks most healthy items are questionable, she did tell me to make them with nuts instead of the flaxseeds and she will try them next time so I will have to update you on that one.

Muffins are great and I probably could have just made it through the day with a couple of them, but I decided a little protein and veggies would round the lunch box out nicely.

Egg and Spinach Muffin Quiches 

1/4 medium sized onion, diced 

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves 

1/2 tomato, diced in 1/2-inch pieces

1/3 cup mixed shredded cheese 

6 eggs 

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Add the onion to a small skillet and cook for a few minutes on medium heat and then add the spinach and cook until it is wilted and remove from heat. 

Spray 6 of the cups in a 12-cup muffin pan with no-stick spray.  Divide the spinach between the cups, divide the tomato between the cups, and divide the cheese between the cups.

Combine eggs, milk, and salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until combined.  Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and fill to the top of the pan.

Bake in 350 degree F oven for 17-20 minutes.

I packed everything up and put it in the fridge for a few before heading off and the quiches tasted just as good cold as they did warm.  So it's up to you the way you would enjoy yours.

The sky has been amazing here lately.  One particularly spectacular evening I saw  golden light streaming through my windows so I bolted outside with my camera to investigate.  

Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me.  

The power of a good lunch never ceases to amaze me either. 

Speaking of the power of a good lunch, please stop by my friend Dionne - Try Anything Once and help cheer her on in her hunger strike to bring attention to food insecurity. 

Enjoy,

Gina

Tomato and Basil Soup with Panini Soldiers and it's my birthday!

Yes all the rumors I've been circulating on social media are true; it is indeed my birthday!  (Please hold your applause, it's a yearly thing.)  Honestly I don't find the day all that exciting.  Usually I just give myself a high five because I did wake up after all.  

Last week when I ordered a glass of wine at a restaurant the server asked if I was 21, after I quit laughing at her I informed the nice young lady I was going to be 45 in a week.  "Oh," she replied. "My mom died at 44."  I immediately offered her my condolences and when she came back with my glass she added, "Make sure and take good care of yourself."  I wasn't quite sure if she was trying to tell me I was looking as tired and run down as I felt or if she was psychic and knew something I didn't.  

Usually I look forward to making myself an over the top dessert involving multiple layers and flavors but Mr. Bubonic was hanging out on the couch today ill and feverish and I figured it was much safer to hide upstairs in my office and catch up on some work.  

Fine I will eat healthy even if it kills me I kept uttering to myself.  The heirloom tomatoes I've been buying are so dripping fantastic right now I decided if I have to preserve my life longer I was going to do it with a bowl of Tomato Basil Soup.

Don't ask me how this sounded good, considering I have went to bed with the smell of tomatoes oozing from my pores the last few nights while I rebuild my inventory for the year.

Heirloom Tomato Basil Soup

4 pounds assorted heirloom tomatoes or any very ripe tomatoes you can find

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup carrots, finely shredded (about 2 medium sized)

1 small red onion, finely diced

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, and finely diced

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.  

Cut tomatoes in half and remove cores, place the halves cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment and place in the oven for 10 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes.

Peel the skins off the tomatoes and squeeze the seeds out into a sieve over a bowl.  Reserve all the tomato juice and pulp.

In a stockpot add the olive oil, carrots, onion, and bell pepper and cook on medium-low heat till veggies are starting to wilt and become translucent.  Add the tomatoes and juice, salt and pepper, and simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.  Add the basil and cook 5 more minutes.  

Use an immersion blender and pulse until semi-smooth.  If you want a chunkier soup you can skip this step.

Mozzarella and Pesto Soldiers

Sliced sourdough bread

Fresh Mozzarella balls

Basil pesto

Slather a little pesto on a piece of sourdough, a couple nice slabs of mozzarella, top with another slice of sourdough, place into a Panini maker or pan, drizzle the top with olive oil.  Wait for the crustification and oozification to take place and slice into soldiers.

I bought the bread, pesto, and cheese; after all I probably don't have much time to waste after my ominous warning.  But if you have plenty of more years ahead of you here are a couple of recipes you may want to try.

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Sourdough Bread

As for the source of the Black Death outbreak, well I traced it back to an unlikely source.  After much research and tapping my vast medical knowledge I had no choice but to conclude that Rusty is the pariah.  I have no idea how I could have missed it, it was right there staring at me the whole time: Blackening nails and an inguinal bubo on his armpit region. 

If I make it to 45 years and 1 day all bets are off and I'm going back to decadent baked goods.

In the words of my wise daughter, "YOLO!"

The Birthday Girl

The "easiest pizza ever" with herbed focaccia bread

As the summer draws to a close the smell of the ripe heirloom tomatoes at the farm stand grows heavy.  On late summer evenings I like to make what I call the "easiest pizza ever".  Growing up when my mom was hurried and pressed to make dinner she would whip us up these cute little pizzas on an English muffin.

I tried them a couple of times when the girls were little, but as my desire accelerated for crusty bread and ripe from the vine tomatoes so did my zeal for a little more grown-up version of an easy little pizza.

I love this time of year, things are starting to get back in order.  I'm concentrating my efforts on catching up on work and planning what's left of this year.

Only thing that could make life any better is a ultra tasty, exceptionally easy pizza.

1 loaf herbed focaccia bread (I like the herbed ones at Trader Joe's, but you could use a plain one too)

Garlic Olive Oil (most stores carry it now)

10-12 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese

4 heirloom or really ripe tomatoes, sliced and cut in half

5 or 6 basil leaves, chopped

Salt

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the focaccia bread in half horizontally and drizzle with a couple teaspoons of the garlic olive oil, place both halves on a baking sheet.

Cover each half with sliced mozzarella and then place a layer of tomatoes on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle basil over top.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Cut into squares.

Sometimes I will make half with fresh tomato and half with pepperoni or whatever the girls are feeling like at the time.

Enjoy,

Gina

Rainbow Spring Rolls - Vegetarian

I have to confess to not eating so well lately, all the packing is cutting into my kitchen time.  What I have been truly craving was something quick and healthy.  Have you ever sat there staring at something you made and thought, "What the heck am I going to call it?"  If it hadn't been for the rainbow of veggies staring back at me on the plate, I may have had to call these Rolled Up Veggie Whatchamacallits or Whatchamwhosits.

In between packing boxes I tossed a few of these tasty rolls back for fuel.  Hot Dog Dude willingly ate them with me, but I could tell he would have preferred something else.  He's a hard core meat kinda guy.  I admit it; I'm kind of a mean wife sometimes.  I'm always nagging him about what he eats and nudging him towards healthier choices.  I thought he was going to lose it when I lectured him on the lunch meat he was stuffing down his face the other day.  He snapped back, "What else am I supposed to eat?"

He tends to be the kinda guy who wants to eat the same thing all the time.  I only nag him so he can add a little variety to his diet.  One can't live by lunch meat alone, well actually Hot Dog Dude could - hence the name.

Gather the following:
Leaf lettuce
Asparagus, washed, ends trimmed and blanched
Carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Blueberries
Rice paper spring roll wrappers

Prepare Sushi Rice:
For rice maker:  2 scoops medium grain rice and water filled to the second line
Or saucepan:  1 1/2 cups rice and 3 cups water

Seasoned rice vinegar mixture
3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Would you still love me if I told you I'm terrible at making rice?  If it wasn't for one of my favorite kitchen appliances the rice maker, we would probably still be eating burned rice.

I love throwing the water and rice in, pushing the button and walking away.

When the rice is finished steaming, open the lid and let it cool down for 5 minutes or so.  Combine the seasoned rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and microwave for 40 seconds or so until the sugar is melted.  Place the rice in a baking dish, pour the vinegar mixture over it and gently stir the rice with your paddle to coat the rice, you want to be careful not to break up the rice. Leave it on the counter until its cool enough to work with.

To soften the spring roll wrappers use a squirt bottle.  Spray both sides and shake of the excess water.  Place the wrapper on a plate and put a piece of lettuce in the middle.  Place a row of rice on top of that; add some carrot, bell pepper and asparagus.  Drizzle with fresh lemon juice or I used a special Meyer Lemon Olive Oil I picked up last time I was in San Francisco.

Before I rolled them up, I placed a row of blueberries in a strategic location:

Grab the wrapper side that is in front of you and start rolling tucking in the sides as you go.  I threw the blueberries in for a little extra crunch and anti-oxidants, plus I had seen Kim's Blueberry Waffles and Sandra's Blueberry Mousse that really put me in the mood for some blueberries.

Before you go thinking I'm the worst wife ever for making her husband go meatless for an afternoon, I actually made him something special the next day that was right up his alley.  I'll share his idea of an ideal lunch with you in a couple days.

p.s.  Hot Dog Dude doesn't know about his nickname, should I clue him in or just keep giggling about it behind his back.  So wrong, huh?

Enjoy,

Gina

Italian Minestrone - Vegetarian

Whenever I read the words, "Because I'm a food blogger I never make the same thing twice", it makes me a little bit sad.  I can't imagine not whipping up the girls' favorites or a recipe that has been handed down over and over again.  Maybe it's because I favor more traditional things or I'm embarrassed to say it, "A little old-fashioned."

Even though I'm constantly trying new things, nothing makes me happier on the inside than when I go to my mom or in-law's house and they have one of my favorites prepared.  I don't care how many times I've had it prepared that same way, I can hear a whisper in my head - I love you, that is why I made your favorite.

Minestrone is one of those happy memory dishes.  It's one my younger daughters' favorites and I know every time I make it, she will eat it and be happy to do so.

Minestrone

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 stalks celery, sliced

32 ounces vegetable broth

1 quart whole tomatoes, crushed or 28 ounces crushed tomatoes (canned)

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried

2-3 teaspoons salt or more if needed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 - 15 ounce can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 zucchini, sliced

8 ounces cooked ditalini pasta

2 cups spinach or Swiss chard (optional)

Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Add the olive oil and onion to a heavy stockpot and turn heat on medium.  Cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are starting to soften and getting some color.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.  Add the carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock and be sure and to stir the bottom to get the color up from the bottom of the pan.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  I broke into my San Marzano tomatoes from the summer and I'm glad I did, they still taste as good as the day they were picked.

Add the thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaves and let the soup come to a boil on medium heat, cook for 15 minutes.

Add the beans, zucchini, and pasta also the greens if you are going to use them, cook five minutes.  Remove bay leaves.

My daughter dislikes the greens, so I serve her hers and then will add the greens for the rest of us.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Traditionally you would place a Parmesan rind in the pot, but I don't usually have rinds lying around, so I usually omit that step.

You guys are probably thinking where are your I'm crazy-busy getting ready for Christmas posts? Yes, I'm busy getting ready for the holiday, but I'm not being crazy about it.  I've decided this year I'm not taking on too many things.  Unfortunately this whole year has been a bit stressful for me and I'm giving myself the gift of - it's okay to just sit back and enjoy being together.  I've had to take on new tasks, so I had to let some go.  I guess I'm just rebalancing, one should never be so out of balance that you keep being weighed down from it all.

Enjoy,

Gina

Sweet Corn & Black Bean Baked Egg Rolls - It Started With A Glance

Have you ever looked out of your window and been smitten by what you've seen.  I know it seems I'm fickle when it comes to love.  It appears I have a new love each week, one week I'm in love with cherries, then I'm head over heels in love with apricots, what's next.  I can't help it though, when I'm driving through town I can't help but fall for the rows and rows of corn growing up all around me.  They wave at me as I pass by gently blowing in the wind.  It's hard not to fall into a dizzying spiral; I have to get my hands on some of this corn I have fallen for.

I was almost to the destination of the object of my affection, when I had to stop and say, "Hello" to these little cuties who were winking at me from the side of the road.  After my little detour, I got myself back on track and got some of the sweet corn I so desired.  I couldn't just buy one ear; I lost my senses for a moment and brought home a dozen, what to do with it was the question of the day.  I have had Priscilla's Baked Salmon Egg Rolls in the back of my mind for some time, but my youngest daughter is back in her no-meat phase, so I was hoping these would please her.  

Sweet Corn and Black Bean Baked Egg Rolls

2 ears White or Yellow Corn cut off the cob

15 oz. can Black Beans

1/2 small red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and minced

3 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

Salt

Pepper

1 package egg roll wrappers

In a mixing bowl combine corn, drained and rinsed black beans, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, Pepper Jack cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper.  Stir until combined.

Once the filling is mixed, lay an egg roll wrapper on your cutting board and place a couple tablespoons of the mixture in the center of the wrapper.  Fold corner nearest you over the filling and then fold sides in, like the photo below.

Once the sides are folded in, wet your finger with a little water and run it over top flap and continue rolling. Place the egg rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Drizzle the rolls with a touch of oil of your choice and brush with a pastry brush to spread.  Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes, flip them over and bake 5-7 more minutes until nicely browned. I served mine with salsa for a little more punch.

We all ended up falling for these flavor packed egg rolls.  These egg rolls would be perfect for a light lunch or as an appetizer.  I made a little something else with the corn I brought home.  This dish however was cold and refreshing; I will share that one with you soon.

I don't know about you, but I'm in love with summer time and the joys it is bringing me.  What have you been falling in love with that I don't yet have a crush on?

Enjoy,

Gina