#5: French Kiss & Crock Pot Spinach Lasagna

Every two weeks I host a healthy taster table at work (a fun part of my job as the employee wellness coordinator), and I saw this recipe on one of fave cooking blogs last week: Gourmified.  It looked pretty darn good, and the guest host who posted it gave raving reviews of it.  I put it on my list of recipes to sample for my bi-weekly taster.  When I saw it on yet another of the blogs I follow: Just Cook Already, I bumped it right to the top of the list tout suite!  Today was the day, and it was quite the success.  It even rivals my current favorite lasagna (which is also super quick and healthy) which you can find the recipe to right here.  Anyway, I hope you and whoever you choose to treat with this dinner find it as fabulous as we all did!

Crock Pot Spinach Lasagna

From Jessica Seinfeld

Ingredients

1 can (14.5 oz.) crushed tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 container (15 oz.) part skim ricotta cheese

1 ½ c. grated mozzarella cheese

¼ c. grated parmesan cheese

8-12 lasagna noodles (depending on the size of your crock pot; precooked noodles are not necessary!)

6 c. fresh baby spinach

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, salt, oregano, black pepper and red pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and parmesan.

2. In the bottom of a 5-6 quart slow cooker, spread a thin layer of the tomato sauce. Top with 3 of the noodles (breaking to fit, if necessary). Spread about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the noodles and layer with 2 cups of the spinach. Dollop 1/3 of the cheese mixture evenly over the top. Repeat twice more with the noodles, sauce, spinach and cheese mixture. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, sauce, and ½ cup of mozzarella.

3. Cook on low, covered until the noodles are tender – especially in the center of the lasagna – about 3 to 3 ½ hours.

 

 

 

#5 = French Kiss

 

Ok, so I know this is not the most romantic scene from the movie, but it is one of the funniest for sure!  This one is just one of those great, sweet romantic comedies.  Its classic Meg Ryan (pre plastic surgery nightmare), and if you don't already love Kevin Kline, you will after this movie.  He's offensive, and its fantastic. 

Speaking of offensive...the honorable mention for today is Pretty Woman.  If someone were to tell you that a story about a hooker would make a great romantic comedy, you might not believe them.  But then you see the movie and you admit that you were wrong-o!  I love this movie - again, its no oscar winner, but its classic.  My grandmother even loves this movie ha!  If you haven't seen it, it's time to just get it over with.  You'll be glad you did.  Promise.

Stuffed Zucchini

Are your fridge drawers overflowing with squash like mine are?  We don't even have our own garden, and they're coming out of our ears!  We are pretty lucky people to have such wonderful friends/neighbors/family to share the fruits of their labors with us, huh!  I know.  Hopefully next year we will be able to pay it forward.  For now though, you have someone else's green thumb to thank for this tasty dinner.  I've seen zucchini stuffed with a variety of things - meat, rice, veggies, greens, etc. - so I figured I'd just use what I had.  That's the greatest thing about recipes like these (aside from the fact that they're easy & pretty quick!) - you can substitute almost anything you've got in your fridge for something I used that you might be out of (or can't stand the taste of).  So, get busy making those little zucchini boats and set sail with stuffed zucchini for dinner tonight!

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise & centers hollowed

1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice

1/3 c. sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 c. artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

1/3 c. button mushrooms, chopped

3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

garlic & onion powder to taste

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil and place zucchini halves rounded side down on the tray.

2. Mix together all other ingredients & spoon the mixture into the hollows of each zucchini halve.  Be generous with the filling!

3. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees, or until cheese in filling is just starting to brown & zucchini is tender.

sKiLlet VeGgiE LaSaGnA

Right now I'm thinking two things: 1) that Hugh Jackman is way hotter than Hugh Grant, and 2) that this recipe is going knock your lasagna-loving socks off! I decided to put the movie 'Music and Lyrics' in while I blog instead of 'Australia'...you know, the one where Wolverine (the official "sexiest man alive") dumps a bucket of water over his half-naked body. What in the world was I thinking?! Whatever, I'm over it. Never mind. So, this is the first lasagna I've ever dared to make, and I'm not gonna lie, I only did it because the cook time is 30 minutes and it looked super easy. FYI it was easy, and it was an absolute HIT! The only lasagna I've ever really loved was the Stouffer's Vegetarian Lasagna from the freezer at the grocery store, and this one totally trumps that one. Also note, as I've mentioned before I'm not a fan of the chunky tomatoes, so the fact that this calls for you to puree them was a plus. You could definitely add chunks if you wanted to, though. Try this one, for sure - you'll be happy you did!

Skillet Veggie Lasagna

adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1/4 c. olive oil, plus more for drizzling

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, diced

4 Tbsp chopped fresh basil and/or parsley, or 4 tsp dried

kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

1 c. ricotta cheese

1 large egg

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

6 sheets no-bake (oven-ready) lasagna noodles

1 carrot, peeled into ribbons

1 zucchini, peeled into ribbons

3 1/2 c. baby spinach

1/3 lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (or shredded)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add garlic; cook until golden, 1 min. Add tomatoes, 1 Tbsp herbs, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper to taste; cook until saucy, ~5 min. Transfer to a blender & puree. Return 1 c. of sauce to skillet and reduce heat to low; reserve remaining sauce.

2. Meanwhile, mix the ricotta, egg, Parmesan, remaining herbs, 1/2 tsp. salt, & pepper to taste in a bowl.

3. Place 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce in the skillet. Layer half of the carrot and zucchini on top; drizzle w/ olive oil & season w/ salt and pepper. cover w/ half of the spinach, half of the ricotta mixture, a few pieces of mozzarella & 2-3 Tbsp of sauce. Repeat the layers, ending w/ noodles.

4. Top w/ the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Cover & simmer until the lasagna is cooked and the cheese melts, 20-25 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes before slicing. Garnish w/ more Parmesan & herbs.