Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna

My brother passed this recipe along to me after my mom gave it rave reviews. I was definitely curious about the vegetarian lasagna that my mom loved so much. The recipe comes from a vegetarian slow cooker book, 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes. According to Amazon and my brother, it’s a great book.

But actually, I didn’t end up using the crock pot for this one. The recipe calls for a lot of prep work and pre-cooking, and I ran out of time that morning, so I ended up baking it in the oven like I would for a traditional lasagna.

And, because I used a small glass casserole dish, I didn’t have room to stack it up like the recipe calls for. So I made two lasagnas and put one in the freezer to cook another time. I also used less cheese than the recipe calls for. And believe it or not, I didn’t add any spices whatsoever. And it didn’t need any. No salt, no pepper, no nothing. Just tasty as is.

Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna
2 Tbs butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 ½ cups quartered artichoke hearts, drained
¾ cup dry white wine or vegetable stock
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles
2 ½ cups ricotta cheese
2 cups spinach
2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan

Melt butter over medium-high heat in skillet. Add onion, cook until softened. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until they begin to wilt. Stir in artichokes and wine and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Set aside.

Stacking: Layer 4 noodles on bottom. Spread with half of the ricotta, half of mushroom mixture, half of spinach, and one-third each of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat. Arrange final layer of noodles over the top. Pour any liquid from the mushroom mixture over the top of the noodles to keep them from drying out. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

If you’re cooking in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. If you’re cooking in the oven, try about 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

I used a mixture of baby portabella and regular, white mushrooms. I also used red-stem spinach instead of baby spinach like the recipe called for. And, of course, I didn’t find pre-cooked lasagna noodles, so I had to pre-boil them. And, as I said earlier, I only stacked the first layer and then the top noodles because I ran out of room in the pan. Two layers would have been much better, but we just ate twice as much to make up for it.

Believe it or not, I didn’t even tweak the recipe, other than what I already mentioned. I didn’t add anything, subtract anything, or give in to the urge to throw some seasoning and spices in. I’m glad I didn’t. It was perfect as is. I honestly wouldn’t change anything the next time I cooked it.

The recipe did seem like a lot of prep work, especially for a crock pot recipe, but I think it was worth it. I’ll try to remember and update with how the frozen version goes once I cook it. I think this is the sort of recipe that will probably be a great frozen dinner. Prep work, pre-cooking, and stacking on the weekend, then enjoy during the week.

If you need to impress your vegetarian friends or family, I think this recipe just might be the one. Yes, everybody has tried the vegetarian lasagnas, but this one is different. And good.

Bacon Broccoli Salad

Broccoli is one of my all-time least favorite vegetables. I hate it. I can’t stand the smell of it, the look of it, even the thought of it. Pouring canned cheese over the top of it sounds equally disgusting. But I’m working on giving veggies a second chance lately, so I decided it was broccoli’s time to step up.

I came across a recipe for Bacon Broccoli Salad in the Food To Live By book I’ve mentioned before. It sounded good for some reason, and the other recipes from that book have been delicious. The thing I didn’t realize is that the recipe called for raw broccoli. I think this was actually in my favor.

I loved it. I have been trying the raw veggies as I chop and prepare them, and I did so with this one too. It was good. Kind of a neutral, earthy flavor. Not anything like the icky nastiness I remember from childhood. And of course, no cooking means no smell.

I did have to look at the TV while I was eating it though because I’m still not quite strong enough to get over the visual aversion to certain veggies. The salad was probably my favorite thing I’ve cooked so far though. I even had it again this morning for breakfast. It only lasts about 24 hours, so says the recipe, but I’m guessing you’ll do like I did and eat it all within that time frame anyway.

Let it sit for two hours in the fridge after you make it, but before you eat it.

Bacon Broccoli Salad
Broccoli florets
Bacon, cooked and crumbled up
Sunflower seeds
Raisins
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbs cider vinegar

Whisk mayo (or half mayo and half sour cream), honey, and vinegar in small bowl. Pour over broccoli. Mix in other ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

Absolutely fabulous!

Curried Chicken Salad

For years, and I mean years, I’ve made a honey mustard chicken salad. It’s been my thing, you know. It’s one of the only recipes I’ve ever actually “created” out of thin air and stuck to over time. I’ve taken it to parties, potlucks, and family gatherings. I’ve passed it around to friends and coworkers and relatives I’d never met before. It even won a contest once.

So now you can probably see how much it takes to get me to try a chicken salad that isn’t mine. Perhaps I’ve just become bored with it. Sure, I’ve switched it up a little here and there, but the basic recipe stays the same. Lately, however, I’ve found myself quite fond of curries. So when I saw this recipe in Food To Live By, I decided to go for it.

Curried Chicken Salad
Chicken breasts, cooked
Celery stalks, chopped (2 to 4)
Roasted pecans (1/2 cup to 1 cup)
Red seedless grapes (about 1 cup), cut in half
Fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup mayo
Salt and pepper to taste

Either use pre-cooked chicken (leftovers or whatever) or boil it in water and/or broth. Once the chicken is done, let it cool down. If you don’t know how to roast nuts, the easiest way is to pour some on a cookie sheet, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for about 8-10 minutes. If you smell them, go get them out now. They can burn quickly.

Chop everything up and throw it in a bowl. Mix the mayo and spices in a small bowl and add to the bowl. Stir, cover, refrigerate for an hour, enjoy!

Honestly, the chicken salad is good. I think mine is different, so it’s hard to compare, but this is definitely worthy of a repeat. Very easy to make too.

A note on the chips:
A friend of ours who works at Whole Foods gave us a bag of these chips (365 Organic brand, Classic Potato Chips with Sea Salt) to try this weekend. They’re all natural, with no additives, preservatives, or gluten. They’re also quite delicioso. I’m not a big chip girl myself, but I ate them. If you like chips, definitely try them.

A note on Whole Foods:
If you’re not familiar with shopping at Whole Foods or you’ve never had the opportunity to figure this little trick out, here’s something I’ve noticed lately. If you talk to the people who work there, you can often get free stuff. Now I don’t go out looking for free stuff, but if it happens to land in my shopping buggy, who am I to question it?

I don’t really know the secret or the “rules,” but I do know I’ve gotten replacement products for free when they were out of something I was looking for and I asked them about it, and I’ve gotten free stuff for looking pensive over trying something new. If you’re the type of person who gets a little rush when someone gives you something for free just to be nice, try it out next time you’re in the mood to be friendly and chatty. Let me know if it works for you too.

One side note about the free stuff: This doesn’t work for items that are already being sampled. It also doesn’t work for items that are easily opened and sampled, such as soups or breads. I tried this with a bread the other week and she sliced me off some. Yes, it was yummy. Yes, I bought a loaf.

Chicken Paprikash

A while back I bought Hungarian paprika. Hungarian goulash is one of my favorite dishes, and I don’t think it really matters whether you use regular paprika or the Hungarian variety, but I like to feel like its authentic when I eat it.

So last week I bought a new book titled Food To Live By from the Earthbound Farm. As I was browsing through cookbooks trying to find something to cook for next week, I came across "Chicken Paprikash." It sounded yummy, but called for chicken breasts and chicken thighs, which I rarely use.

The ingredients list is long, and I glanced to make sure I had everything. I did, except for the chicken. At the grocery store, I decided thighs would be fine without the breasts since I’m using breasts for something else later in the week. So I bought an 8-pack of thighs.

Little did I know, I was supposed to purchase boneless, skinless thighs, but I didn’t. At first I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal just to cook them in the bones and skins, but then I realized this was a very saucy dish and gnawing on little chicken thighs covered in sauce wasn’t going to be that easy.

So I started deboning and removing skin. A very nasty process. I have to say, I’m not one to be easily grossed out by raw meat during the cooking process. I happily stick my hand up that turkey cavity every Thanksgiving, and sometimes on Christmas. I’ve also deboned whole chickens before, but only after it was cooked. The thigh thing was disgusting. It almost ruined dinner for me, but the peanut gallery said it was very tasty.

I say all of that, not to gross you out, but to stress the importance of reading the instructions. Buy boneless!

Chicken Paprikash
8 to 10 oz. boneless chicken thighs, cut into ½ inch strips
1 ½ lbs. boneless chicken breast halves, cut into ½ inch strips
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs sweet Hungarian paprika
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbs garlic, minced
2 Tbs tomato paste
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ tsp hot Hungarian paprika (optional)

Season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika. Heat butter and oil in skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until cooked through (about 5 minutes or so). Use a slotted spoon and transfer the chicken to a bowl.

Add onion to skillet and cook about 5 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

Add chicken broth, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and add chicken back in. Cover skillet and simmer about 5 to 10 minutes.

Whisk flour into sour cream in small bowl. Add mixture to skillet and stir to blend. Cook over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not let sauce boil or sour cream will separate.

Add hot paprika, if using. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or potatoes.

This dish was tasty, even after the chicken thigh grossness during preparation. But I still felt like it was missing something. Perhaps it needed vegetables in the dish. It was just chicken, chicken, chicken and then rice. If you like dishes like that, definitely try it. If not, try throwing in some veggies and let me know what happens.