VEGGIE BAKED ZITI

I am going to get this out before moving on - I am almost certain, that this should be categorized as comfort food. However, it is pretty delicious and I guess no that unhealthy. I mean, you are making your own alfredo AND in this case it is a veggie sauce...so not that bad, right?

However, this is a great go-to dish when, in our case, you have some left-over, really tasty spaghetti sauce in the fridge. If you like cheese, you will like this version. If you are looking for something a little less rich, feel free to cut the Alfredo Sauce in half.​

Ingredients:

For Alfredo (feel free to cut this in half, this is A LOT of alfredo and should be used with 1 lb pasta):

1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese (plus more for the top) 3 tablespoons butter

3 loosely packed tablespoons flour

1  cup milk (in our case, whole milk - yeeks!)

dash of ground nutmeg salt/pepper to taste The Rest:

12 ounces spaghetti sauce (the thicker, the better) - we used Local Folk's Foods Veggie Sauce

8 oz shells or ziti noodles (we choose whole-wheat, adds a nutty flavor)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook noodles, but be sure to undercook by a couple minutes. This will prevent them from becoming to soppy after the baking process. During, or after (in the same saucepan, hate washing dishes + small galley kitchen = pan consolidation) in a saucepan, melt butter on medium-low heat. Once melted, slowly add flour while stirring. This is a delicate process, lower heat if it starts to burn. Add milk about a 1/4 cup at a time, stirring or whisking between pours. The milk will ball up after the first couple pours, continuing adding and whisking. You should end up with a nice smooth, custardy texture. Then add Parmesan and stir until fully incorporated.

Add the noodles to the alfredo. To create the ziti, I used a bread loaf pan - which I must admit, was not my idea. It stemmed from the Eatons making us frozen lasagne meals in preparation for Soren's birth - and then Rick used our loaf pans to make TWO separate zitis instead of one HUGE one. They are all geniuses. I digress - Pour half of the noodle mixture into the pan. Then spread marinara/spaghetti sauce on top. Pour other half of noodle mixture and finish with remaining spaghetti/marinara sauce. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan (and for me - a few breadcrumbs for extra crunch!). Bake for 20-30 minutes. Depending on how much crunch you like depends on how long you cook. I go for the full 30!

Serve hot and enjoy!

I would be remiss not to mention my little helper munching on strawberries. Stirring and straining imaginary pasta - his cuteness makes the dish that much better! 

*For a simple veggie spaghetti filler here is Mark Bittman's Ziti Tomato sauce, Rick loves this one and is quite good at making it:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound mushrooms (I LOVE mushrooms, our sauce was a mushroom base as well!)

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon garlic

1 28oz can tomatoes

(now, this will make enough for two loaf pans, or in our case = one loaf pan ziti + 15 pizza empanadas....)

Put olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until they soften, release their water, and then begin to dry again. About 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until veggies soften - about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Turn heat down so mixture bubbles gently. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Simple - but tasty! 

warm weather

​Does this mean spring is almost here?!

Now, usually I am not one for the warm weather. I have always enjoyed things like snow, warm fireplaces, hot cocoa and curling up with my Kindle on a cold wintery night. But since Soren - things have changed. I LOVE warm weather.

Warm weather means exploring outside, trips to Coney Island where Soren experiences the pool, running around at playgrounds, picnics and trips to a bustling market filled with amazing produce.

As the weather turns - I look forward to starting these memories all over again. Now I understand what people mean when having a child is like reliving childhood through wiser eyes. So true! And now, I enjoy, remember and reminisce - making new childhood memories with my son and family.

So, yes, even though Soren is much more interested in getting the chalk out and promptly putting it back and then carrying the container around the yard - I am still going to show him what it is like when you scrape that mysterious powdery stick over concrete only to create art: a beautiful sky, an elephant - or even his name, the best art of all.

He does understand the swing and LOVES the underdog. He even preps for it with little giggles and lets out a raucous laugh when you sneak under the swing for the final push. We even kicked the ball around the yard and he was a such a trooper. Anytime he mis-step, he picked himself off, brushed it off and went after the ball - kicking and giggling.

I can't wait to start digging and gardening with him this summer. It's going to be so much fun. I really enjoy warm weather now, but even more than that - I love watching my son explore, adventure and experience the outdoors as we move into spring.

SHORT BUT VERY SWEET...

Last week, I had the pleasure of chillin' with my Opa. He drives busses from time to time - and as chance had it, he drove the Chicago (he's from St. Charles, IL) ECHL team down to Cincy to play the awesome Cincinnati CYCLONES!

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♥

So, I told him - during the game, we are coming to kidnap you for dinner and will have you back in time to pack up the bus and leave. He, was like - 'food, for free, my grand-daughter and great grandson - DUH! See you at 5!'

It was awesome - better than awesome! He is doing very well - healing up nicely after some medical mishaps of the past year (including a bum shoulder, you'd never know!). He's a trooper and my grandpa - he rules! So we grabbed some quick Potbelly's sandwiches with Soren and met up with Rick at work so we could all eat, or try to eat (since Rick has to board-op and of course it was an election night!) together. Opa got a quick tour of what we do and where we spend a better portion of our days. It was fun, nice and wonderfully familial. Thanks for the quick visit Opa!

♥Ich liebe dich xoxo 

RED BEAN INDIAN CURRY

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Oh, Indian food, why can't I ever cook thee right?!

It's true - I had yet to ever cook an Indian dish that tasted, well, like the deliciousness that comes in a paper bag from Akash in Downtown Cincinnati - until now! I think I found a winner (aside from the Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Curry dish from Deb's Smitten Kitchen) - Red Bean Indian Curry, adaptation from Tiffin Tales.

Since I had a nice stock of beans, which I now keep after trying Modern Megpie's packed full of beans Chili, I decided to give it a shot - and as you can see holding his second helping - Rick agrees this is a dish to keep in the memory bank (or in my case - blog).

15 oz can Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained (I know, lazy - I didn't soak and boil...but they still taste great!)

2 tablespoon butter

1 medium yellow onion

2 cloves garlic and a thumb size ginger with a dash of water pureed to a paste 1 cup chopped tomato

1/2 cup tomato paste

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon red chili powder (I'm a wimp!)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 cup Vegetable Broth (more if you desire a thinner curry) Salt, to taste

1/2 lemon - juiced

Melt butter over medium heat and add onion. Cook until translucent, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic-ginger paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add spices and cook for one minute until aromatic - add tomato and tomato paste and stir until incorporated. Add broth and beans, lower heat and cover - stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot over basmati rice (I always throw ours in the rice cooker with a dash of nutmeg - yum!). Enjoy!​

POTATO GRATIN WITH SPINACH AND MUSHROOM

So, I'm a little forgetful... and by a little - sometimes a lot. For the past three weeks I have neglected to alter our greenBEAN delivery box which results in a surplus of potatoes. Which isn't entirely bad, since they are organic and sustainably grown fingerlings - but none the less, we have a butt load of potatoes.

In a quest to de-potato our fridge, I came across this goodie on Smitten Kitchen's site - Simple Potato Gratin. With just a few adjustments - we ended up with slightly healthier (so we kid ourselves) Potato Gratin with Spinach and Mushroom!

3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubed pieces (plus more for the bottom of the gratin dish and cooking the mushrooms and spinach)

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes (or any other waxy potatoes - these work a bit better since the skins soften better in the oven)

1 cup milk

3 oz cheese parmesan, gruyere (yum), cheddar - whatever your liking! We used a healthy mixture of white cheddar and parmesan

10 oz mushrooms (we used white button, but feel free to use any other variety), de-stemmed and sliced

1 cup (or generous handful) washed spinach salt/pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Melt cooking butter (I truthfully used 1 tablespoon Olive Oil) over medium heat in a sauce pan. Saute mushrooms until almost all the water is out of them. Depending on type this could take 10-20 minutes. Add spinach and stir until just wilted. Take off the heat for layering gratin. Wash and slice the potatoes very thin. Some use a knife, others a mandelin slicer - in my case - my food processor with the slicing blade. In a 9x12 inch gratin dish (or 9" round like mine...), smear the button with a bit of butter (to prevent sticking), and lay down in a thin layer, 1/3 of the potatoes. Sprinkle a third of the cheese, and a half of the spinach/mushroom mixture - salt and pepper to taste (this is important since a lot of the flavor comes from the salt and pepper...). Repeat one more time. On last layer - place last third of potatoes on top, with last third of cheese. Place the cubed butter on top and gently pour in milk. Bake for about an hour pushing the top gently down after 30 minutes.

Mine was filled to the top and started leaking so I had to put an old baking sheet beneath. This dish is great for leftovers, breakfast, lunch and dinner! Enjoy!