Thursday, September 29, 2011

Lasagne Rolls

I love this recipe because it is so simple, but not much easier than assembling lasagne the regular way. However, I found the rolls filled up the pan so much better, and was definitely easier to serve, but not necessarily eat. It's hard to cut a roll with your fork. Usually I put way too much effort into Lasagne using a lot of ingredients. This came out delicious. Even my meat lover husband said "I wish we could have Lasagne every night."

1 package whole wheat Lasagne noodles
1 16 oz. bag of shredded mozzarella
2 16 oz. containers of cottage cheese
1 32 oz.(quart) jar of tomato sauce
Spinach, sauteed in oil with onions

Cook noodles according to directions, drain and rinse in cool water. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 13x9x2" lasagna glass baking dish. Lay out noodles and place some cooked spinach, cottage cheese, and mozzarella on each. Roll up and place in glass dish. Pour remaining sauce over all rolls. Sprinkle what fell out during the rolling process on top along with some extra mozzarella. Bake uncovered at 350 for 50 minutes. Let rest for 15 mintues. Makes 18 rolls, serves 6.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Asian style Green Beans



2 lbs of Green beans, cleaned
1 lb of pork sausage
1 whole head of garlic
1 dried Cayenne Pepper
Canola, or another high heat oil
Sesame Oil
Rice Wine Vinegar
Soy Sauce

Par boil the green beans for a few minutes till vibrant green, then drain. Brown the sausage in a skillet, remove. Add a Tablespoon of Canola oil if you need to and stir fry the green beans on high heat add the garlic and the cayenne pepper in the last minute. Add 1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 1-2 Tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, and 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce. Enjoy straight up or over rice.

BBQ style Coleslaw




1 medium sized head of green cabbage, sliced thinly into 2 inch strips
3 medium carrots, grated
2 medium leeks, halved and sliced finely, whites and greens
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Black Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Combine ingredients and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. In South Carolina, coleslaw is used as a topping for a pulled pork BBQ sandwich. Coleslaw is believed to have originated with the Dutch.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Low Cal Ranch Dressing

I like ranch dressing, especially to dip raw veggies in. But, so many salad dressings, even the so-called natural kind, have things in them I do not want to eat. And the better brands don't have ranch or it just tastes like Mayonnaise. And who wants to eat straight Mayo? So I tinkered around with a couple of recipes to create a good tasting, no MSG or preservatives, non-Mayo tasting, lower calorie ranch dressing. And if you aren't a cottage cheese fan, just try it. My sister is the foremost hater of cottage cheese and she would eat this.

1 cup Cottage cheese
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
3 T.-1/3 cup milk (less for dip, more for dressing)
1 rounded tsp. dried parsley
1 rounded tsp. dried dill
1-2 level tsp. garlic powder (you can substitute onion powder)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar (optional)

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz till smooth. Makes at least 1-1/2 cups.

And if you like it fresh, use 1/3 the amount of fresh herbs to the dried equivalent.