Road Trip Appetite, The Bridesmaid Dress and Veggie Lasagna

On mile 1 of 2354 I did not regret the decision to drive and on mile 2354 of 2354 I still did not regret the decision to drive from San Francisco, CA to Mobile, AL. I would call that a successful road trip. Flying would have been so uneventful. I enjoyed every stop and every bite; however I am elated to be settled into my new kitchen. Below I will share food highlights that I will be using for motivation in future posts. The experience ranged from enjoying quality local food in Santa Fe, NM to eating just for caloric necessity in Grand Canyon National Park. While the Grand Canyon is known for its scenery; I quickly learned that its not famous for produce or good food. We enjoyed everything from homemade tater tots to sushi, burgers, quinoa salad, chili relleno, fresh pineapple pizza, carrot cake french toast and back to sushi. And haunting every meal was the bridesmaid dress that I had to fit into at the end of the road trip.  I suppose it is also this bridesmaid dress I can give credit to for keeping my weight in check. (Thanks and Congratulations to you Dr. and Mrs. LeBert!) It was well worth the experience and the few pounds gained.

Peanut Butter and Jelly on the road:

Shopping trip to Whole Foods to recover from the Grand Canyon:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking School in Santa Fe: blue corn pancakes, chorizo cottage fries, huevos rancheros, and spinach and goat cheese quiche:

 


















Fresh pineapple, cilantro, red onion, feta pizza from West Crust Pizza in Lubbock, Texas:

Marry Me Roll (shrimp tempura, ginger cream topped with avocado and strawberry) from Piranha Killer Sushi in Austin, Texas

And now for a recipe...
A few months ago I posted the Back Pocket Lasagna with a promise to post a veggie lasagna. Right before leaving SF, I received my first actual request for a recipe so I will enthusiastically oblige. I am a bit hesitant as I have made several different variations of this lasagna but will settle on posting the most recent. This lasagna has a layer of zucchini in the middle that could replace one layer of your pasta if you are trying to lighten the dish or could be used in addition to the pasta. Another idea I thought of was to end with a top layer of zucchini instead of pasta. I think I will try that next time. So many lasagnas, so little time.

1 lb lasagna noodles
1 medium yellow onion
8 oz mushrooms
10-12 oz fresh spinach
2 zucchini
28 oz can diced tomato
8 oz can tomato sauce
3-5 cloves of garlic
2 cups ricotta
1.5 cups cottage cheese
16 oz mozzarella
salt, pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
grapeseed (or canola) oil

Cook pasta noodles until al dente (8 minutes), drain and lay out on paper towels to dry.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in large skillet, add onion and saute for about 5-7 minutes, add diced mushrooms and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic and once fragrant add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, salt, pepper and oregano.  In a separate skillet, heat oil and wilt spinach in handfuls. Add 1-2 cloves of garlic at the  and remove from heat when fragrant. Add spinach to tomato sauce and turn off heat. Combine ricotta, cottage cheese, 8 oz of mozzarella cheese and a couple pinches of salt. Layer a casserole dish with a couple spoonfuls of tomato sauce to prevent pasta from sticking. Next make layers of  pasta, cheese mixture, veggie tomato sauce, zucchini slices and repeat until you run out of room in your dish. This will likely be two layers ending in your choice of either pasta or zucchini slices then the remainder 8 oz of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 25 minutes.

Tweet

Back Pocket Lasagna

We should all have an excellent lasagna recipe in our back pockets for occasions that require such a hearty and yummy meal. Appropriate occasions that come to mind could be things such as:

1) a family gathering with kids and adults who are pleased by cheese and pasta and not much else
2) a group of friends over for dinner with prep ahead leaving time to visit while baking
3) arrival of a newborn with busy parents who could benefit from a mobile meal that keeps well
4) a Sunday meal with hopes of leftovers to help you cruise through Monday and Tuesday
5) a hungry husband who requests lasagna two weekends in a row (really?)
6) your craving for lasagna (if #5 happens then #6 likely won’t happen)

I have made a lot of different versions of lasagna and my personal favorite is a vegetarian lasagna (promises to post later) but the below recipe will likely please others. A few years ago I started with my Mother in Law’s recipe (cute husband’s request) and did some tweaking from there. My husband requested that I not change the way his mom finished off her lasagna...cheddar cheese slices. Mmmmm! Ok, request granted.

* Admitting that this one may not deserve “simple plate” status I have broken the recipe into three steps to make the process a bit more clear and perhaps “simple”.

1.5 -2 lbs ground beef
medium onion, diced
4+ cloves of garlic, minced
15 oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
1 tablespoon oregano
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
16 oz fresh spinach
1 lb package lasagna noodles
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
16 oz mozzarella cheese
6 slices medium to sharp cheddar cheese

Step 1 Making Tomato Sauce:
Brown ground meat with two cloves of garlic. After ground meat is cooked, add onion and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease and add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, oregano, ½ tsp salt and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Step 2 Details In between:
While tomato sauce is simmering, heat a shallow skillet on medium and add ½ tablespoon of olive oil. In batches, add a large handful of spinach and more olive oil until wilted. Next, add 2 cloves of minced garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant remove from heat and set aside. Cook pasta and lay out on dish towels to drain. Combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, parmesan, 1 egg beaten and ½ teaspoon salt. Add spinach to the cheese mixture and set aside.
Step 3 Building Lasagna:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and build lasagna in a casserole dish. Layer a couple spoonfuls of sauce, pasta, ricotta spinach mixture, mozzarella, meat sauce and repeat. End the top layer with pasta and cheddar cheese slices. Bake immediately or refrigerate until ready to bake for 30-40 minutes.

Tweet