Roll ups

Tonite after a wonderful facial at April Rose Skincare, I came home with already knowing what I was going to make; Due to my planning ahead on early Monday morning. What works for me is that I print out all the recipes for the week, plus the grocery shopping list of what I still need and attach- all week I can refer to the shopping list if I left anything off, as well as have the recipes at hand.
There ended up being so many rolls, I invited our dear friend Ivan to dinner. We haven't seen him almost 6 weeks! He was one of the guests to attend our wedding and is also one of the main contractors on our house... More about that to follow.


Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Adapted from Sporadic Cook

Ingredients:

• 9-11 Lasagna noodles
• 10 oz cooked spinach
• 15 oz fat free/or low fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper
• 32 oz tomato sauce ( I use Ragu; sauteed onion and garlic)
• 9 tbsp ( about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2-3 garlic cloves minced ( optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine spinach, ricotta, parmesan, garlic, egg, salt and pepper in medium bowl.


Using a hand held immersion blender, give a few quick pulses to fully incorporate the ingredients.
Ladle some of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish.

Place a long piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles, best to do right after cooking, otherwise they stick together. Make sure noodles are dry. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over noodles. Roll carefully and place seem side down onto the baking dish.

Ladle sauce over the noodle rolls and top each with mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and cook for approximately 25 minutes.

Then uncover and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese melts and is lightly browned.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.
We also enjoyed with a spinach salad with Kats dressing ( recipe to come) and Pugliese french bread- the best dinner french bread! And at Nob Hill it is fresh out of the oven at 4pm- very European style.
Oh how I miss France and Italy! :-)
Hope you enjoy

Grilled Chicken Breast with Roast Potatoes, Crispy Blanched Green Beans, Thyme Tomatoes

Today, after a camping weekend along the Sequoia National Forest, and cooking with limited supplies, a wood fire , yet the freshest ingredients I was rejuvenated into the cooking world and searching any and all recipes I could find. Although I love to cook, I often find myself unmotivated until... I find recipes that entice me- but while in the kitchen, two things have to happen; First, I have to have background noise- either the tv or my ipod and secondly a clean kitchen- however, I'm not very good at being the type who cleans as I go- so that is something I will work on.

The recipe today comes from the FitTV show that I TIVO: A Lyon in the Kitchen

My husband found this recipe to be a winner, rating all but the green beans between a 9.5-10.0! I found the portions of this to be rather small for the big eater that he is- so now I know to double up on what the recipe calls for, but the potatoes had a savory yet refreshing taste, and the tomatoes were so flavorful, he even ended up putting some on triscuits with goat cheese and said to make more next time!

Ingredients:

• 2 yellow potatoes, quartered
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
• EVOO, as needed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon freshly picked thyme
• 1/3 pound thin green beans, stem end removed
• 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
• Kosher salt
  
• freshly ground black pepper
• bowl of ice water
  

Directions: In a medium sized bowl, combine the tomatoes with a dash of salt, a few good grinds of black pepper, thyme, and a good drizzle of EVOO, then transfer to an oven set to 350 degrees, for 20-25 minutes. This is your sauce. In the same bowl used for first recipe (why dirty a second bowl?), toss together the potatoes, lemon zest, rosemary, a good drizzle of EVOO, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to a sheet pan and place in the same oven set at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes until nicely colored, stirring once to prevent burning. In a small pot with boiling water add enough salt until it tastes like the ocean, then cook the green beans for 1 to 2 minutes. The beans should be cooked but still have some snap remaining. Drain and immediately transfer to the bowl of ice water. Drain once the beans are cooled.

For the chicken breasts: Sandwich the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them evenly to 1/3 inch in thickness. Season with salt and pepper and grill until when cut, the juice runs clear, approximately 3 minutes on each side. Serve the vegetables with an optional spritz of lemon juice to taste, topped with the sliced chicken, in addition to a nice spoonful of roast tomatoes.

Enchilada Bake

After a week in beautiful Tulum Mexico, I'm researching any and all recipes I can find for healthy eating!

Here is one straight from the Crossfit Capitola Blog:

Chicken Enchilada Bake

Sauce:

1-2 small chipotle peppers, chopped (from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce), plus 1-2 tsp. adobo sauce

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. ground chili pepper

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

pinch sea salt (optional)

2 C organic chicken broth, low sodium

3 C (or 3 8oz. cans) organic tomato sauce, no added salt

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low/simmer while you prepare everything else.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Chicken:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 head cauliflower, shredded with food processor until rice-like consistency

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Boil chicken breasts in water for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from water, and with two forks shred chicken into pieces. Set aside. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onion, until transparent, add garlic, bell pepper, and spices. Saute a little longer to combine flavors. Add shredded chicken to the skillet, and mix together. Now add sauce to the chicken skillet ... RESERVING 1/4 C sauce for the cauliflower rice. Mix well.

Put cauliflower rice in the bottom of a baking dish. Add 1/4 C of the sauce. Mix well. This is the bottom layer of your enchilada bake. Now add the remaining chicken/sauce mixture over the cauliflower. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. And for the rest of you, serve with avocado slices.