Manicotti with Cheese and Spinach

I got this recipe from Kara West when I babysat her kids in college. It's very simple and really good! It's one of the first recipes I made for Adam too and he has always liked it. It's a meatless dish but I've added italian sausage to the cheese mixture or used a meat sauce on occasion... you know how guys like meat!

14 pieces of uncooked Manicotti or a box of jumbo shells

1 15oz container part-skim ricotta cheese

2 c. shredded mozarella

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

3 c. spaghetti sauce (any flavor but I like garlic parmesan)

-Cook pasta in boiling water for 6-8 minutes, drain well and cool on wax paper.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-In large bowl, stir together cheeses, spinach, salt, and pepper.

-Spoon mixture into cooled pasta tubes or shells.

-Spready thin layer of sauce on bottom of 13x9x2 baking dish and arrange pasta in single layer over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over pasta and cover pan with foil.

-Bake for 40 min; remove foil and bake for 15 more min. or until hot and bubbly.

Blackberry Olive Oil Pancakes

So, my camera has been in the kitchen all week, thus all the posts! These pancakes are my new favorite breakfast food. They taste almost like having blackberry pie for breakfast, they are that good. We had them this morning with blackberries some friends in July. Even though there was snow on the ground, it tasted like summer. Jason’s suggestion would be to use buttermilk, since the tang really does make a difference. Of course, we don’t generally keep buttermilk on hand, so I’ve made these with regular milk more often.

I got this recipe from a great food blog, www.ohsweetbasil.com.

Blackberry Olive Oil Pancakes

Adapted from José Andrés on Delish

1 ¾ c flour (tasty with whole wheat flour)

2 T sugar

2 t baking powder

½ t baking soda

¼ t salt

1 ½ c buttermilk (regular milk will do in a pinch)

¼ c extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for cooking

1 egg

½ c fresh blackberries

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.

Whisk in the egg, buttermilk, and olive oil until you have a smooth batter, then stir. Be sure to not over stir–it’ll make the pancakes tough and flat rather than being light and fluffy.

Carefully fold blackberries in to the batter.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat. Ladle 1/4 cup of the pancake mixture into the pan and cook until golden brown. Flip the pancake with spatula and cook until golden brown on the second side. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more olive oil to the pan as needed.

http://ohsweetbasil.blogspot.com/2009/09/blackberry-olive-pancakes.html

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

I stumbled across this recipe in the South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook while searching for a salmon recipe with sauce so that Jason could stomach eating fish once a week. It is tasty, and the sauce is sweet, and good. I don't usually love balsamic vinegar, and whoa nelly, the fumes while reducing it are enough to send you over the roof (keep a safe distance when sniffing). But by the time you sit down to eat it, it is just all goodness. And really good with rice to soak up the extra sauce.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

4 (6 oz) salmon fillets
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 t extra-virgin olive oil
1 t fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 450 F.

Season salmon with salt and pepper; place in an ovenproof baking dish and bake until opaque throughout, 10-12 minutes.

While fish is cooking, place vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until reduced to 1/3 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in oil and lemon juic, and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon on serving plates and drizzle with glaze.

Makes 4 servings

Pan Roasted Chicken

This recipe is unbelievably easy and always turns out fantastic! It looks and tastes nice and fancy, but it's a piece of cake and about 20 minutes from start to finish. You just need a pan that you can move from cooktop to oven.

I got this out of the Martha Stewart's Cooking School book.

1 pint grape tomatoes
16 large black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and halved
3 T capers (nonpareil), drained and rinsed
3 T olive oil
4 boneless chicken breast halves (the recipe calls for skin-on, but I have always used skinless)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.

Prepare sauce: Heat oven to 475 F. Toss tomatoes, olives, capers, and 2 T oil together in a bowl.

Sear chicken: Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add remaining tablespoon oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Place chicken in skillet, skin side down, and cook until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. Use tongs to flip chicken, then add tomato mixture to skillet.

Roast: Transfer skillet to oven and roast chicken until cooked through and tomatoes have softened, 15-18 minutes.

Serve: Transfer everything to a platter, or divide chicken among plates and spoon some tomato mixture over the top.

Herb and Feta-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This was the first recipe I made for Jason that he actually liked, so it is dear to my heart. Plus, it is good for when company comes over because it bakes in the oven and gives you time to get everything else ready! Plus-plus, it is really tasty...

I got this from the Pillsbury Complete Cookbook. I've made it with a variety of herbs instead of just parsley, but the parsley is good--and I don't even like parsley that much. I would definitely use fresh parsley instead of dried if you can.

Herb Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Serves 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 t chopped fresh oregano
OR 1/4 t dried oregano
2 T olive or vegetable oil
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 c sliced ripe olives
4 t cornstarch

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Using sharp knife, cut 3-inch slit in meaty side of each chicken breast half to form pocket.

2. In small bowl, combine feta cheese, parsley, oregano and oil; mix well. Gently spoon 1/4 of mixture into each pocket. Place chicken in ungreased 13X9-inch (3 quart) baking dish.

3. In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, and cornstarch; mix well. Pour over chicken.

4. Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear.

Coconut Shrimp (w/ Pina Colada Dipping Sauce)

Okay girls, here's the recipe to the winning coconut shrimp. I'm so glad everyone loved it. Glad all my raving wasn't for nothing! By the way, I'm depending on Shaant to post the picture since it was taken on her camera. :-)

COCONUT SHRIMP

Ingredients:

8 large prawns
flour
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup panko japanese crumbs
oil for frying
parchment or wax paper

Tempura Batter Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. soda
2 egg whites
1 tsp. salt
1 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. paprika

Directions:
Clean, peel, and butterfly prawns. Mix up tempura batter by combining ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. Lightly coat prawns with flour, dip in tempura batter, then roll and crust in blend of coconut and panko. Carefully lay prawns on parchment (or wax) paper and freeze for 1 hour to allow bonding of crusting. Deep fry in oil until crust is golden brown. Serve with pina colada sauce.

PINA COLADA DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 cup pina colada non-alcoholic drink mix, bottled

1/4 cup water

1 T. crushed pinapple, drained

1 1/2 T. sweetened flake coconut

3 1/2 T. powdered sugar

1 1/2 t. cornstarch

1 T. cold water

Directions:

Mix first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Heat on med-low heat until sauce begins to simmer; stir frequently. Let simmer slowly for 10-12 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water together, add to sauce, and blend well. Let simmer 3-5 more min while stirring during and after cornstarch is added. Remove from heat and let cool. Serve.