Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower

Sometimes I can't be bothered to cook a real dinner from scratch. Tonight was one of those nights. We had an Indian feast, but I could hardly call it cooking. I bought samosas from the grocery store, tikka masala sauce in a jar, and fresh naan bread. Oh, I made rice. And the other thing I made was this delicious cauliflower. It isn't Indian by any stretch, but it went well with the meal with a small adaptation. I've made it the original way as well. Cauliflower is cheap, in season, healthy, and delicious. You can't go wrong. Here's my version of the original recipe, posted by Shellery on Allrecipes.com.

2-3 cloves minced garlic
olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
grated Parmesan cheese to taste
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the garlic and cauliflower into a large resealable bag. Add enough olive oil to coat the cauliflower lightly.

Bake in casserole dish or roasting pan for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Preheat the broiler. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley and broil for 3-5 minutes until golden brown.

*To serve with Indian food, just leave out the Parmesan and parsley. No need to broil.

Homemade Applesauce

I've been an absentee blogger lately, but I had to stop what I was doing and add this recipe. It is fantastic! The only time-consuming part is peeling the apples, then you just throw everything in the oven and ignore it for awhile. The recipe is adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I made it to use up a bag of apples we had and immediately ate it warm for dessert after dinner. It has a great autumn flavor.

Zest and juice of 1 large naval orange
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
7 apples, I used some local British ones
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large knob of unsalted butter, about the size of a walnut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel, quarter, and core the apples and toss them into a nonreactive Dutch oven or enameled iron pot. (I used a ceramic casserole dish). Add the zest and juice of the orange and lemon half. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Cut the butter in 2 or 3 pieces and add to the pot. Cover with a lid or foil. Bake for one hour, or until all the apples are soft. Mash with a fork. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: the Barefoot Contessa's recipe calls for about twice as much butter, but I didn't think it was necessary.

Creamy Spinach Lasagna

A delicious and semi-healthy lasagna. It's a good way to get Kenneth to eat his greens.... ;-) You can cut down on the prep time by starting the milk mixture at the same time that you start browning the onions.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 (16-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce, divided
Cooking spray
12 cooked lasagna noodles, divided
3-4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook 10 minutes or until onion is browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and spinach. Add desired amount of salt and pepper to mixture. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 3 minutes or until spinach is tender. Set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, milk, salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a small saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 2 cups milk mixture to spinach mixture. Cover remaining milk mixture, and set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce; top with half of spinach mixture. Top with 3 lasagna noodles, 1 cup marinara sauce, and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cheese. Layer 3 more lasagna noodles, remaining spinach mixture, and remaining 3 lasagna noodles. Top with remaining marinara sauce. Pour reserved milk mixture over the top, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until lasagna is browned on top.

Serves 6-8

Herbed Basmati Rice

This is my go-to rice. It's simple, flavorful, and can be served with a wide variety of cuisines.

2 teaspoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice
1 cup chicken broth (or water for a veggie dish, but the broth makes it more flavorful)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion tops (I omit)
~1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil
~ 1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in rice. Add broth, salt and dried herbs and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Makes 4 servings (1/2 cup each)

Spanish Rice

This rice is infinitely better than the boxed Spanish rice you can get at the store. It goes great with with any Mexican/Spanish meal. I find that the amount of broth used should be approximately what your box of rice indicates, so you shouldn't just automatically use 3 cups broth for 1 1/2 cups rice. I say approximately because I use a little less broth than what my box of rice says due to the addition of the tomato sauce.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice, such as Texmati
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (some grocery stores sell celery by the stalk, so you don't have to buy a bunch)
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 teaspoon salt
~ 2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups chicken broth (or water, to make it a vegetarian rice)
1 (8 0z.) can tomato sauce

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the rice until it is golden brown. Add the vegetables and seasonings, and continue to sauté for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Add the chicken broth and the tomato sauce, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for the time indicated on your box of rice.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Lentil Vegetable Soup (with Optional Chorizo)

This is a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook with some tweaks. First, I don't make it vegetarian, but it can be made meatless with vegetable stock and no chorizo. Alberto loves it with chorizo, though, and he says it "tastes just like home" (Madrid, Spain). I also usually make half of the recipe because it makes so much, but you can also freeze half. Once it's all in the pot, you can ignore it for an hour. Simple!

1 pound French green lentils (Puy lentils)
3 large onions, chopped
2-3 leeks, chopped, white part only
3 cloves garlic, minced (when making half, I use 2 cloves)
1/4 cup good regular olive oil (not extra virgin), plus additional for drizzling
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 stalks celery, chopped
8 carrots, large dice
3 quarts chicken stock (or vegetable stock, or water with vegetable powder - I like the Marigold brand)
1 big heaping spoonful of tomato paste
*1 link of cooking chorizo, sliced into round coins, then slice in half
a big splash of red wine
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. If using the chorizo, add it now.

Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Check the seasonings. Add the red wine and serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan.

*Cooking chorizo is soft, like fresh sausage. It is not a dried link like salami. It is not usually very spicy. Regular chorizo is dried and cured and can be eaten immediately. Cooking chorizo must be cooked before serving. It freezes well, so you can buy a package and just take out as much as you need at one time.

Big Crunchy Salad

This has become a staple dish at our annual IT potluck. It also makes an annual appearance at Brizendine Christmas Eve dinner.

Salad:
1 head Romaine lettuce
1 head Nappa cabbage (I prefer purple cabbage for the color)
1 red pepper
(Chop as much of the above ingredients as is needed for number of people.)

1 package Ramen noodles – chicken flavor
1 small package sliced almonds
1 tbl butter

Crush noodles. In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and brown noodles and almonds. Stir continuously – you may need more butter. Right before mix turns light brown, add chicken flavor packet. Stir a few more minutes until light brown and crunchy.

Dressing:
(Mix together and shake or whisk)
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 T. black Pepper
1 T garlic powder.

Toss all three together just before serving.

Chile con Queso

A dish sent from the heavens. Great for game day parties.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet white onion
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper or jalapeño (or a combination)
~ 3 tablespoons teaspoon ground cumin
~1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth (or water, for a veggie dish)
8 ounces Velveeta, cubed
1 cup chopped tomatoes

Using a medium sized pot (~3 qt.), heat the oil and sauté the onion, pepper and dry ingredients for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

Add the broth and heat 3 to 4 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken, then add the cheese and tomatoes.

Simmer the queso on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, adjusting thickness to suit your taste by adding water or cheese.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Ditalini with Tomatoes, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella

This meal is so simple and delicious that I make it almost once a week. There are a lot of leftovers, which makes my husband happy because he has something to eat when I abandon him for the evening to hang out with friends :) I have found that the type and brand of Mozzarella make a big difference in the consistency of this meal. Mozzarella packaged in water is too soft and turns stringy once added to the pasta. The brand that I have found results in the best consistency is Belgioioso, specifically the Mozzarella in the vacuum-sealed package.

6-8 Roma tomatoes, chopped
Fresh basil, about 10 leaves, sliced into strips
6 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 box of Ditalini (small, tubed shaped pasta; Penne works well too)
8 oz. of fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you prep the other ingredients.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or skillet. Add the sliced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do not brown the garlic. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. I probably add about 2-3 tablespoons of salt, but you can adjust the salt to your taste. Using the back of a large spoon, slightly smash the tomatoes, creating a sauce-like consistency.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. Continue to simmer the tomato sauce until the pasta is ready. Once the pasta is done cooking, add the basil to the tomato sauce and remove the sauce from the heat. Pour the sauce over the pasta, add the mozzarella, stir and serve.

Serves 4-6