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Saturday, July 31, 2021

RAVIOLI BAKE

I'm so happy I stumbled across this recipe.  Not only is it Italian goodness in every mouthful, but it is super easy to put together.
Everyone knows how time consuming building a lasagna can be (well worth it), what I would say if you have a taste for lasagna and you don't want to go through all the bother, this is a nice alternative.  You actually build it similarly to a lasagna, but you use frozen ravioli.  You heard me right.  Frozen!

In my picture you see two types, meat and cheese.  Choose whatever you like.  I just liked the idea of both flavors, so I built mine three layers high and started with cheese, put a meat layer in the middle and ended with a cheese layer.  So good!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 package (or two if you want to add both) of frozen ravioli
½ lb. shredded mozzarella (I used a pre-packaged mozz/provolone mix)
grated parmesan


DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Add a skim layer of sauce to the bottom of the baking dish.  I chose a 6x9 inch baking dish since I was making this for just two of us.  Begin placing the frozen ravioli into the pan.  Top the ravioli with sauce, shredded cheese, and a sprinkling of some grated parmesan.  

Continue layering to build up your dish.  I stopped at three layers for mine and made sure I added some extra mozzarella to the top.   Tent with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 45-55 minutes.  Check at the 40 minute mark and remove foil, so the top gets slightly brown.

Let sit for approximately 10 minutes before dishing it up.

Enjoy!


recipe: c/o www.bettycrocker.com

Monday, July 19, 2021

HAM, SWISS, SPINACH QUICHE

It had been quite some time since I'd made a quiche, so I opted for my ham and swiss option, but also threw in some spinach for good measure.  It turned out super yummy, and really fluffy since I used the remaining half and half that I had in the fridge.  

I opted for a pre-made frozen pie shell and was able to have this bad boy ready to eat in about an hour.

INGREDIENTS:

1 frozen deep dish pie shell
4 eggs
1 cup half and half  (whole milk works well)       
*1 cup cubed cooked ham 
1 ½ cups grated swiss cheese
3/4 cup shredded fresh spinach leaves
pepper
salt
dried minced onions
garlic
dried parsley

* I purchased a small ham steak and cubed it myself.  I've tried to use the pre-cubed, but the ham is always pretty wet and I found it made the crust soggy.  


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and half and half.  Add the seasonings and whisk until they're fully incorporated.  I didn't measure what I used, but I would say it was probably about 1 tsp. of onions and parsley and 1/2 tsp. of pepper, salt and garlic....add more or less, per your liking. 

Place the empty pie shell on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet.  Place about 1/3 of the shredded spinach into the bottom of the pie shell, layer in about 1/3 of the ham and top with 1/3 of the cheese.  Continue until all the ingredients have been added.  Pour the egg mixture over the top.  

Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes, until lightly browned.  

Removed from the oven and let sit about 15 minutes before attempting to slice.

Enjoy!

Thursday, July 8, 2021

SHEET PAN SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE DINNER

 I've come across a number of sheet pan recipes, and finally decided to try one.  I looked at a number that involved shrimp and chicken sausage and took bits and pieces from several recipes to create my own version. 

This one turned out so well, I'm excited to experiment with other combinations!  And.....you can't beat the fact that there's absolutely no clean up.  

There's a bit of prep at the beginning cutting up the items, and because I was using a number of different items that would take longer to cook than others, realize that the cooking process to this recipe works in stages.  Total cook time is 50-60 minutes. 

INGREDIENTS:

5 small yukon gold potatoes
1 bag fresh cauliflower/broccoli (found in the produce section)
1 pkg. chicken with apple sausage
1 lb. large shrimp

Optional Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. honey
couple squirts of lemon juice 


DIRECTIONS:

1.  Cut all items (with the exception of the shrimp) into bite size pieces
2.  Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
3.  Using a large plastic bag, place the potatoes in the bag, add some canola oil, kosher salt, dried rosemary and pepper.  Seal and shake to coat the potatoes.  
4.  Spray the section of the sheet pan that the potatoes will be placed on.  Cook for 20 minutes
5.  In the meantime, coat the broccoli and cauliflower with the same flavor combination (or add other ingredients that suit you).  Add to the sheet pan (I did not spray any other portion of the pan during the rest of the baking) and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
6.  Using a separate bag, add the shrimp with a little canola oil and some Old Bay Seasoning and pepper to your liking (I probably put in 2 tsp. of Old Bay and 1 tsp. of pepper).  
7.  Add both the sausage and shrimp to the pan and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes, watching the shrimp to ensure they are adequately cooked. 

I have to say, the cooking times were just to my liking.  The potatoes were crusty on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside.  The veggies had just a little char, and the sausage and shrimp were done, but still moist and tender.

I chose to make a dipping sauce as listed above, which I thought blended well with everything, including the veggies.  My husband chose to drizzle the sauce over his entire plate.  You choose....or go naked....whatever, floats your boat.  

Enjoy!