The original source for this recipe is the Rachael Ray Get-Together Cookbook. This is a modification of her Tortellini en Brodo recipe. I’ve been making my version for a few years, and I modified the original recipe, using vegetable broth instead of chicken and cheese tortellini instead of chicken, to make it vegetarian for my mom and my friend Katie.
Here’s what you need:
1 sack of fresh pre-washed Spinach (we always get the family size bag because we like extra spinach)
2 boxes and 1 can of Vegetable broth (I like Pacific Foods brand low sodium vegetable broth)
1+ pound of fresh Tortellini (Cheese is always good, but sometimes we get Chicken herb and prosciutto tortellini)
Bring broth to a boil. Add tortellini and boil for 5-10 minutes. Tear spinach into pieces and stir into soup. Let spinach wilt a little, then serve with some crusty bread. If you really like cheese, you can top the soup with some shredded parmesan cheese.
4.29.2008
Pita Pizza
For this recipe, you’ll need some pita bread (we like the whole wheat kind,) shredded cheese, various pizza toppings, garlic, dried/fresh basil, and some store bought pesto. Yes, pesto sauce is rather easy to make if you prefer your own. You just take some basil, pine nuts and EVOO and grind it all up in a food processor, but to avoid the mess and to save time, we always just buy some pre-made from the store.
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with some tin foil to prevent a mess. Take a pita and spread some pesto on it. Top with toppings. I like sliced zucchini, red bell pepper, and black olives. Top with shredded cheese, then sprinkle a little bit of dried basil and either garlic powder or minced garlic on top of the cheese.
Bake these for 15 mins.
These can be vegetarian if you don’t use meat toppings, and these can be made vegan if follow all the steps, but omit the cheese. (They are actually very tasty without the cheese, just load up on some extra veggies!)
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with some tin foil to prevent a mess. Take a pita and spread some pesto on it. Top with toppings. I like sliced zucchini, red bell pepper, and black olives. Top with shredded cheese, then sprinkle a little bit of dried basil and either garlic powder or minced garlic on top of the cheese.
Bake these for 15 mins.
These can be vegetarian if you don’t use meat toppings, and these can be made vegan if follow all the steps, but omit the cheese. (They are actually very tasty without the cheese, just load up on some extra veggies!)
4.22.2008
Ravioli Lasagna
In the fall of 2007, Bob and I bet on the CU vs. CSU game and the loser had to make dinner. I bet on CSU, and I lost. Since we were newly dating, I wanted to use this opportunity to impress Bob with my cooking skills. I found a Rachael Ray recipe on foodnetwork.com for Spinach-Artichoke Ravioli-Lasagna. Bob has some adverse reaction to tomatoes, which is why I was attracted to this recipe. The recipe calls for a white sauce to be made out of butter, flour, and milk, but to cut down on the calories, I’ve cut it out in my version. I’m sure Rachael Ray’s version is good, but my version is pretty good too.
You will need:
Some EVOO, 1 bag of fresh spinach, 1 tub of ricotta cheese, 2 cloves of garlic, about a palm full of dried basil, 2 packages of frozen ravioli (we like Safeway Select Mushroom ravioli,) 1 15ounce can of artichoke hearts, and about 1 ½ cups shredded parmesan cheese.
Pre heat the oven to 425. Prepare the ravioli according to the package directions. Chop/crush the garlic (or use some of the minced garlic from a jar) and mix into the ricotta cheese. Mix the dried basil into the ricotta cheese also. Drain the water from the can of artichoke hearts.
In a rectangular baking dish, drizzle some EVOO in the bottom of the dish, then begin layering 1/3 of the ravioli on the bottom. The ravioli is sometimes to hot to handle at this stage, so tongs might be helpful for this step. Another tip for this step, lay the flattest side of the ravioli on the bottom of the dish. For the second layer, spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture with a spatula over the ravioli. Then, layer some of the fresh spinach over the ricotta mixture. For the fourth layer, lay down half of the can of artichoke hearts. To spread them out better, pull the artichoke pieces apart while you are laying them down. After the artichoke layer, I drizzle a little more EVOO over the top.
Continue layering the layers. 1/3 of the ravioli, the other ½ of the ricotta mixture, some more spinach, the other ½ of the artichoke hearts, a little more EVOO, then the last layer of ravioli. Top with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 30min.
You will need:
Some EVOO, 1 bag of fresh spinach, 1 tub of ricotta cheese, 2 cloves of garlic, about a palm full of dried basil, 2 packages of frozen ravioli (we like Safeway Select Mushroom ravioli,) 1 15ounce can of artichoke hearts, and about 1 ½ cups shredded parmesan cheese.
Pre heat the oven to 425. Prepare the ravioli according to the package directions. Chop/crush the garlic (or use some of the minced garlic from a jar) and mix into the ricotta cheese. Mix the dried basil into the ricotta cheese also. Drain the water from the can of artichoke hearts.
In a rectangular baking dish, drizzle some EVOO in the bottom of the dish, then begin layering 1/3 of the ravioli on the bottom. The ravioli is sometimes to hot to handle at this stage, so tongs might be helpful for this step. Another tip for this step, lay the flattest side of the ravioli on the bottom of the dish. For the second layer, spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture with a spatula over the ravioli. Then, layer some of the fresh spinach over the ricotta mixture. For the fourth layer, lay down half of the can of artichoke hearts. To spread them out better, pull the artichoke pieces apart while you are laying them down. After the artichoke layer, I drizzle a little more EVOO over the top.
Continue layering the layers. 1/3 of the ravioli, the other ½ of the ricotta mixture, some more spinach, the other ½ of the artichoke hearts, a little more EVOO, then the last layer of ravioli. Top with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 30min.
4.21.2008
Sweet Potato Burritos
When Bob and I were first dating, we found out that we have a shared love for Potato Burritos from Big City Burrito in Fort Collins, Colorado. They are one of the greatest things on earth. Big City takes cheese, potato pieces, ranch dressing, salsa, guacamole and sour cream and wraps them up in your choice of tortilla. It doesn’t sound that great, but it’s amazing. I have taken first timers there, Big City virgins, and no one has ever been disappointed by the visit.
Early in our dating, when we were pulling out all the stops to impress each other, I picked up some burritos while I was visiting my sister in Fort Collins. It had been years since Bob had ate one. While we were eating them, Bob told me of his potato burrito recipe that he had mastered during his bachelorhood, how he ate them daily, and how it helped him put on 40lbs. I said, and possibly just as an attempt to impress him, “I think I could make a healthy version of these that we could make at home and eat more often.”
And I did.
First, pre heat the oven to 425. Take a decent sized sweet potato, wash it, dice it, and toss it on a cookie sheet.
I need to interrupt here and state that I am from the Rachael Ray School of cooking. I don’t really measure things and I call olive oil EVOO.
Drizzle EVOO over the pieces; sprinkle about half a palm full of cumin and about the same amount of cayenne over the sweet potato. Mix it with your hands to make sure all the pieces are evenly coated. Bake for ten mins, shuffle the pieces around on the cookie sheet so they bake evenly, then bake for another ten mins.
When the pieces are done baking, toss some of them on a tortilla (we like spinach tortillas!) and add your toppings. We always add a spoonful of Ranch dressing to take the recipe back to its Big City roots. Bob likes to add Cholula. Diced avocado, diced tomato, and diced black olives are good too. Sometimes we use some shredded cheddar cheese, but if you leave it out, the recipe is vegan.
We make this recipe at least once a week and its always amazing.
Early in our dating, when we were pulling out all the stops to impress each other, I picked up some burritos while I was visiting my sister in Fort Collins. It had been years since Bob had ate one. While we were eating them, Bob told me of his potato burrito recipe that he had mastered during his bachelorhood, how he ate them daily, and how it helped him put on 40lbs. I said, and possibly just as an attempt to impress him, “I think I could make a healthy version of these that we could make at home and eat more often.”
And I did.
First, pre heat the oven to 425. Take a decent sized sweet potato, wash it, dice it, and toss it on a cookie sheet.
I need to interrupt here and state that I am from the Rachael Ray School of cooking. I don’t really measure things and I call olive oil EVOO.
Drizzle EVOO over the pieces; sprinkle about half a palm full of cumin and about the same amount of cayenne over the sweet potato. Mix it with your hands to make sure all the pieces are evenly coated. Bake for ten mins, shuffle the pieces around on the cookie sheet so they bake evenly, then bake for another ten mins.
When the pieces are done baking, toss some of them on a tortilla (we like spinach tortillas!) and add your toppings. We always add a spoonful of Ranch dressing to take the recipe back to its Big City roots. Bob likes to add Cholula. Diced avocado, diced tomato, and diced black olives are good too. Sometimes we use some shredded cheddar cheese, but if you leave it out, the recipe is vegan.
We make this recipe at least once a week and its always amazing.
Fish Tacos
My best dish is probably the fish taco. It is a moderated version from my favorite cookbook "Eating for Life." I don't really do crazy things like measuring or anything like that so this doesn't really translate to a tradition recipe but I will attempt to explain it.
The first thing you need to do is select a good, sturdy fish. Ahi tuna is good, so is swordfish, pretty much anything that chunks well. I'm coming up with new cooking lingo, chunks will soon sweep the nation. Get about a pound of that.
Other things you will need. Spinach tortillas. 3 to 4 avocados. 4 limes. Cumin. Olive oil. Garlic. Lettuce or spinach. Jalapenos. Tomato. Onion.
Get your self a marinatin' dish. Throw in a enough olive oil to coat your fish, combine with a teaspoon of cumin, the juice of 3 limes, and a few minced cloves of garlic. Let the fish soak it up for about 10 minutes while you're chopping the other stuff.
Dice the avocado and jalapenos and place in a mixing bowl. Add teaspoon of cumin yet again, a couple more minced cloves of garlic, and the juice of the remaining lime. Mix it all up until it is evenly distributed. If it is a little dry at this point drop in a dab of olive oil.
If you are anything like me then you hate tomatoes and onions, but chances are you are like most people and you love it. Dice those up and mix in a separate bowl on the off chance I'm dining with you and would want to avoid it. This can go into you're avocado filling mix, but I think it layers better separately anyway.
Throw you're marinated fish on a grill that is as hot as it goes and cook for a few minutes on each side until it looks done, but before you dry it out. Let it sit for a few minutes so the juices can settle. Cut in to strips or "chunk" it as I like to do. I'll actually just rip it into bite sized pieces.
Let the tortilla sit on the grill for a few seconds on each side if you are using something bigger than the George Foreman I usually use. Set a bed of lettuce/spinach on your tortilla throw in the fish chunks and your desired filling. You will be happy with this taste wise and its got lots of healthy ingredients. I like to have some white wine with this. I've made it a million times and it always tastes good.
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