Todd and I were in a mood for a snack this evening rather than dinner, and I had just stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest (imagine that…) We had everything we needed so I decided to just go ahead and make them.
before going in to the oven...
Aside from substituting Pamela’s (gluten-free) Baking Mix for the Bisquick, I followed the recipe almost to the letter. (I did sprinkle in some dried, minced onion…I also subbed 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan for 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.)
They turned out really well, and we ate them all!
the finished product!
When I make them again I’ll make a few minor changes. I thought the oregano and garlic salt were a bit overwhelming, so I’ll pull back on those next time.
Here is the recipe I’ll follow the next time I make them:
1 10 oz. box Cascadian Farms organic chopped spinach (thawed, and squeezed to thoroughly drain)
1/2 C Pamela’s Baking Mix or 3/4 C gluten-free Bisquick
1 egg white
1/2 T dried, minced onion
1 1/2 T italian seasoning
1/2 T garlic salt or 1 T garlic powder
1 1/2 C shredded mozzarella
1/2 C shredded parmesan
Heat oven to 400°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix all ingredients, except pasta sauce. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve with pasta or marinara sauce.
Spinach macaroni + cheese is another recipe I found on Pinterest. Last night Todd grilled pork tenderloins and I made this.
It was really good, and so easy!
My large muffin pan only holds six, so I made this as a casserole instead. Other than that, I followed the recipe to the letter (although I may or may not have used a little more cheese…) Oh, and we didn’t have any gruyere so I used parmesan instead.
Obviously, I used gluten-free pasta. We use Ancient Harvest, which is made from quinoa, and for this recipe I used their shells rather than the elbow macaroni, which they do make, as well.
Todd and I looked back over the year and all the recipes we’ve made…about half of the recipes we’ve discovered this year, and the rest we’d made before.
These are listed in no particular order (it would be impossible to rank them!) — more than half are vegetarian, and all of them are gluten-free as I’ve posted them or notated.
Todd and I made this yesterday, and wow, is it delicious! It was super easy, as well. And, as is everything we make, it is gluten-free (if you buy pre-shredded cheeses, be sure to check. All Publix brand shredded cheese is gluten-free.)
just before going into the oven...
the finished product!
Enjoy!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
Nonstick cooking spray
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large eggs
16-ounce container small curd cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese*
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese*
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried dill
10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs lightly.
Stir in the cottage cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and dill.
Stir the onions and spinach into the cheese mixture until everything is well blended.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pie plate.
Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If the pie begins to brown too much on top before being cooked through, cover it with a piece of foil.
Let the pie rest for 10 minutes before cutting it into 12 wedges.
We’re back from our trip to Orlando and there is NO food in this house…except for the ingredients I’d bought before we left to make my world-famous taboule.
So, this is what’s for dinner tonight.
Because I’m gluten-intolerant I substitute quinoa for the Near East Taboule Wheat Mix Salad in the recipe below. Todd loves this dish; I do too. It’s perfect as a side dish – or as your main meal if you’re not in the mood for anything heavy.
1 cup quinoa
sprinkle of dried mint, to taste
2 large cucumbers sliced thick and quartered
8-10 roma or plum tomatoes sliced thick and quartered
1 medium chopped onion
1 jar Vigo marinated mushrooms (drained — when I make this for Todd I do not add the mushrooms but they are very good in this!)
the juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup italian dressing or greek vinagrette
1.5 containers crumbled feta
garlic salt + cracked black pepper to taste
Make the quinoa according to box directions, and then put in a LARGE tupperware-type container (the size of a large salad bowl). Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Add in the rest of the ingredients, and gently and thoroughly stir together. Add feta, gently stir again, and then refrigerate for 4-12 hours before serving (this makes a huge difference!)
Todd’s 40-something birthday was earlier this week and I asked him to please choose what he wanted me to make for breakfast and dinner that day (I surprised him with a buffet of our favorite snacks from Whole Foods for lunch ).
For dinner he chose my world-famous roasted vegetable lasagna. (Actually, I found the recipe in Self magazine about 11 years ago…I really can’t take much credit!)
Frankly, his choice was somewhat surprising…he chose a vegetarian dish…for his birthday dinner?!?!?
We are talking about a man who is all meat all the time.
This has quickly become one of our most favorite meals, and we love the fact that in addition to being unbelievably delicious – and filling – it offers days worth of leftovers…and it’s very low in calories and fat and chock full of calcium, veggies, and nutrients! A fantastic food for distance runners and other endurance athletes.
The recipe is below, and the brief video above should give you an idea of how very easy it is to make.
* 1 pound plum or roma tomatoes, cut in 1/4-inch slices
* 1 pound zucchini, cut in 1/4-inch slices
* 1 pound yellow squash, cut in 1/4-inch slices
* 2 red bell peppers, cut in 1-inch strips
* 1 yellow bell peppers, cut in 1-inch strips
* 1/2 pound mushroom caps, cut in 1/4-inch slices
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* olive oil cooking spray
* 1 egg white, lightly beaten
* 2 containers (15 oz each) reduced fat or skim ricotta cheese
* 2 tablespoons bottled pesto sauce
* 1/3 cup grated parmesan
* 3 cans (14 1/2 oz each) diced tomatoes (drained)
* 12 oven-ready lasagna noodles (1 package)
* 2 cups shredded lowfat mozzarella (I sometimes substitute a blend of shredded Italian cheeses for added flavor)
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 475°F. Toss plum tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, mushrooms, salt, and oil in a bowl. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and place vegetables on it; roast 30 minutes.
In a bowl, mix egg white, ricotta, pesto, and parmesan.
Coat a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with olive oil spray. Spread 1 can tomatoes on the bottom. Top with 3 noodles.
Spoon 1 1/4 cups ricotta mix over noodles, then a layer of 3 cups vegetables, then 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat this layer, starting with tomatoes. Add final can tomatoes, three noodles, remaining ricotta mix and vegetables.
Top lasagna with last 3 noodles and 1 cup mozzarella.
*Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes.
*don’t forget to do this! I have…and I completely burned the top layer of lasagna noodles as well as the mozzarella. TWICE.
).